Zero Summing
by Poliamida
Summary: Mocked by her peers and a failure as a mage, now she finds herself alone in a foreign land ravaged by a civil war. With the world on the brink of destruction her life couldn't get any worse, could it? Reverse summon AU.
1. Chapter 1

_Edit: Spellcheck provided by thefluffyone93, thanks a lot!_

Under strange skies

Chapter one

Where were you when the Void Broke?

* * *

><p><em>Dylxexes the Younger, of the First Era, states quite clearly that an adventure can only truly begin three ways: by death, by slur, or by letter. To begin without one of these is to be relegated to the status of an indiscretion or, at best, an escapade.<em>

* * *

><p>The first thing of notice once consciousness returned to her was the thick fur that covered her body. Warm but a bit uncomfortable against her skin, obviously it wasn't the work of the best of tailors. The strange thing was that the nights hadn't been cold enough to warrant such a coat, she didn't remember going to sleep with one. She didn't remember going to sleep to begin with! What in Founder's name was happening?<p>

The second, third and fourth things of notice came in quick succession:

The strange voices talking in a language that, at first, she couldn't recognize.

The strange man with whom Louise was sharing the horse she was currently riding.

And... the ropes... that held her in place on top of the animal's body.

"Gyyyaaaaaa!"

What was happening? What the hell had happened? Tumbling to the side she felt her tethers loosening.

'_Who are these people?'_

Had she been kidnapped? How? When? She was in the academy! She should be in the academy! With all her strength (what little she had) she fought to free herself; luckily whoever had made the knots hadn't done a good job.

Her captors started shouting, they knew she was awake and trying to escape, the rider of her horse trying to grab her, but all the movement got the creature nervous and he had to take hold of the reins to not lose control of it.

With a final effort she grabbed the ropes and tossed them to the side. Finally free Louise lost her balance and fell, face first onto the... Snow? There was snow everywhere! But it was spring! She was already too frightened to stop and think about this surreal situation.

Trying to sit up, she frantically searched for her wand, she wouldn't be able to cast a single spell for her dear life but at least Louise could try to scare them. Her holster was sadly empty.

'_Founder's blood, where is that stupid thing?!'_

Dumb luck was the only thing that saved her as one of the horse's legs passed dangerously close to her head.

'_I have to get out of here!'_

Accepting her wand was missing she rose, clumsily, made two steps and fell again. Even with adrenalin pushing her forward it was difficult to move with snow to her ankles.

She heard more shouting; soon they would be over her. This was stupid, how could she hope to outrun a God damned horse?

She rose again.

Did they have archers? Louise was terrified that the last thing she would ever feel was an arrow piercing her back.

Another fall.

And it was so cold! Even if she could evade them, what to do next? Without any idea of where she was she would end up wandering aimlessly for hours or days, then a wolf would attack or her body would finally succumb to the elements, or the lack of sleep and food, or...

_Fhoom!_

Her train of thought was violently stopped when she discovered that yes, her captors had rangers, but no, they didn't have archers. Evidence of that was the fireball that had impacted just a few meters in front of her.

Realizing that running was another option out of the window Louise slowly turned to face whoever her kidnappers were. If they had a mage maybe that meant they weren't marauders, maybe she had come across a hunting party that could help her return to the academy! As if. There were many mages of lowly origins that decided to prey the roads for gold and jewels. Fouquet came immediately to mind.

"You freaking moron!" Wait a minute, she had understood that, "What were you thinking?!"

Finally taking a good look she saw there was only two of them, but they were heavily armed and armored. The first man, the one she had shared the horse with, and gave the impression of trying to commit murder-by-stare, was rather... maybe not good-looking but well built, with blond hair that reached his neck.

About the other, the first thing Louise would have to say was _tall_.

"I was thinking that the girl was hysterical and I had to calm her down before she did something regretfully stupid," He answered in what Louise finally recognized as some heavily accentuated form of Romalian, "something for what fire does wonders."

He was easily a head taller than his companion, his hair hidden under a steel helmet. The girl wasn't sure exactly what, but there was something strange with his face, the proportions were off, and she was convinced there was something definitely wrong with his cheekbones. Louise didn't see him carrying any wand, had he put it away just then?

"You could have hit her!"

"My aim is impeccable, besides I still don't trust her and I did notice you failed to tie the ropes."

The more Louise observed them (and heard their conversation), the more certain she was that they weren't some wannabe cutthroats. The men looked well fed, were well shaved and their armors (leather and steel respectively) looked well maintained. She would expect those who lived in the deep of the wild running from the law to look worse for wear.

"Yes, yes because the Stormcloaks triumph card is a fourteen year old..."

"I am sixteen!"

That managed to silence them, at the price of their undivided attention.

"Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?" Louise demanded, summoning all her bravado in her best regal voice, but was sure she only managed to sound like a broken trumpet. Once again she cursed herself for having lost her wand.

"Easy, easy." Said the shorter man, trying to be the least intimidating as he could. His companion didn't even try, "We are not going to harm you, we are near Helgen, my name is Hadvar and this one here is Fasendil."

"_Legate_ Fasendil, mind you, and we were hoping you would answer the last question, preferably on the way back to rest of our column."

Helgen? She had never heard of a place called that, but she was sure she had heard the term legate before, some form of ancient military title, and this Fasendil had said something about a column, were they part of an army?

She felt a chilling breeze caressing her cheeks and was thankful for still having the coat.

"Y- You are the mage, are you a knight or a noble?"

Fasendil looked confused by the question, and Hadvar looked like he was trying too hard not to chuckle; was it such a strange question?

"No, I already told you, I'm a legate, and the son of a merchant. Now, if you want to stay here fine by me, just don't cry when the wolves come."

How did he dare to talk to her like that? Louise was about to give him a piece of her mind, but Hadvar stepped in.

"Ok, calm down you two. Look, we found you near here, I can tell you all the story, but I have to agree with my friend, it's cold and we have to get in motion." That made sense.

"But why the ropes?"

"You were unconscious when we found you. I wanted to bind your hands and feet too, to be on the safe side, but Hadvar only made sure you wouldn't fall over the horse."

"I believed that if she were to wake up and found herself handcuffed she would freak out!"

"And that worked so well, didn't it?"

"Enough! Shut up! Fine, I will trust you, just help me get on the animal."

"Finally! I hate this weather."

While the legate got back on his horse, Hadvar helped Louise to mount theirs.

"So, tell me your name, I don't think you want us to keep calling you 'girl'."

"My name is Louise Fra... eh, Louise"

She wasn't really comfortable telling them her full name, if these soldiers truly didn't know who she really was maybe she could convince them to let her go once she knew the way back to Tristain.

"Family name?" The voice of the legate surprised her.

"Wha-What do you mean?"

"You are a noble, aren't you? Tell me your family name."

"You know? How do you know?!"

"If you were trying to hide that fact, you were terrible at doing so. Your posture is too straight, your clothes look too expensive, and one of the first things you asked me was if I was a noble. Would you feel safer among your equals?" Fasendil asked with some bitterness in his voice.

"I, yes, but... *sigh*, yes I would. My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de la Valliére"

"Well, that's a mouthful."

"Mph.."

"Louise Francoise sounds Breton, from Wayrest maybe? But I never heard of the Valliére family. "

"What?! How could you not? We are one of the most prominent families of Tristain!"

"..."

"You said Tristain?"

"You two do not know of the Kingdom of Tristain? In what kind of place in the middle of nowhere am I if you have never heard of Tristain?"

"How you dare!? That kingdom of yours surely is so insignificant it doesn't even appear on maps!"

"You crude dog, I would be surprised if you could even read maps!"

"Uncultured brat."

"And what are you laughing about?"

At some point of their exchange Hadvar had started laughing animatedly. His amusement only grew when both Louise and Fasendil managed to ask the same thing at the same time.

"You have that effect on everyone, don't you Fasendil?

"Mph.."

"So, Louise, ever hear of Skyrim, Cyrodiil, Morrowind? The Empire?"

"What Empire? Germania?."

"Germanian Empire? Doesn't ring a bell."

"Then I can't say I recognize any of those names."

"Tell me girl, ever heard of a place called Tamriel?" The legate might be bad-mannered, but seemed something had occurred him.

"Neither"

"Do you know how you ended up here?"

"I'm not sure, why? Where did you find me?"

"Maybe it's more a matter of 'how'." Answered Hadvar, "Fasendil and I are legionnaires, we were escorting some prisoners when we heard a big explosion; we offered to come and investigate, just in case there were enemies around. We found you in the center of a circle of scorched land."

"Do you remember what you were doing before appearing here?"

"I'm not really sure. I was in the Academy of Magic and... mmm... Wait! I remember now! It was the day of the Springtime Summoning Ritual! When we summon… our... familiars... Oh Founder." That made too much sense! Of course something so ridiculous could happen only to her! Barely holding the tears, she pressed her face against the coat to contain her cries.

"You were trying to summon a familiar? Yes, yes, that has some unfortunate implications."

"A familiar? What does it has to do with anything? I see the mages always playing with those silly things."

"For the love of the eight, I dearly hope someone skins the one that came up with that stupid spell. Girl, Louise, tell me if I am right: a familiar, a proper one that is, is a creature summoned with the help of a series of complex rituals to act as the lifetime companion and protector of the mage, isn't it?"

Louise just nodded with her head, too busy sobbing.

"Nice to know some schools still teach that. And so, Hadvar, if the spell she was casting was trying to summon a creature to her location and it failed..."

"Oh"

"Yes, 'oh', her home could be on the other side of Nirn for all that we know. But I must say that, all in all, a summoning spell that works backwards is among the most benign outcomes you could expect, I remember this apprentice that summoned a shark but failed to close the portal properly and died of drowning, or that other one that managed to open a portal to the Shivering Islands; he never got over it."

"You are not helping!"

"It wasn't my intention to."

"So, that's it! I failed! And I failed so bad that I managed to send myself to this Founder forsaken place. And I'm sure you didn't even know of the Founder, do you? Figures. My life couldn't get worse."

* * *

><p>"I see them."<p>

Finally raising her head after some ten minutes of silent riding, Louise saw the group the legionnaires belonged to. There was a long procession of carts, easily around twenty, each one carrying between four to eight prisoners, all carefully bounded. Each cart was escorted by as many soldiers as passengers, all wearing armors similar to Hadvar´s.

The only different one was the cart directly in the middle of the formation, guarded by easily thrice as many soldiers. But these ones were different, they didn't wear the light leather armors of their companions, no, they were fully covered in metal armors, more similar to Fasendil´s. Whoever they were keeping watch on, was dangerous.

As the three riders got closer to the front of the line Louise could see there were women among the guards. That was striking, as in Tristain even with tales of the Heavy Wind, female warriors were virtually unheard of. She felt strangely satisfied with that.

"Who is that man?" Asked Louise, pointing at the one leading the procession.

"That's General Tullius, Commander of the Legion forces here in Skyrim."

General Tullius was a man that should have been in his mid-fifties, if his white hair was any indication. Muscular and his armor carefully decorated, Louise assumed she had finally found a noble that could help her. But a general? What was a general doing warding some bandits?

"Why is a general…?"

"Legate, report!" At some point, and without Louise noticing, one of the women accompanying Tullius had lowered the march to catch up with her and her companions.

"We found the source of the disturbance Captain. The girl here is a mage, suffered some form of accident and ended up teleported here."

"And you believed her? How do you know she isn't here for Ulfric?"

"I don't think so madam, she would be dead now if we hadn't found her. Besides, she is not a Nord, I doubt they would want her in their ranks."

Without paying much attention to the legate's words the captain directed her gaze to Hadvar and the young girl. If Louise believed Fasendil had a stern expression, this woman looked like she could defeat a dragon in a staring contest. She actually reminded her of her mother.

"I still don't like it. Soldier, take her away from the formation, I won't let anything go wrong today."

Tired and still depressed, Louise didn't want to complain.

"Of course captain."

While they slowly rode away, the legate returned to what, Louise assumed, was his original position alongside the general.

"A woman hard to please, isn't she?"

"Seems strict. That's a good thing."

"Well, yes, but you are lucky she didn't just decide to throw you on one of the carts too."

"Wait, what? Could she have done that? I'm a foreign noble, she can't do that!"

"The thing is, she wouldn't care. Look, Louise, we are all nervous here, none of us want anything to go wrong, not now."

Louise remained silent; now that she looked at them, the soldiers did look grim, taking fleeting glances over their shoulders as if expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

"Why? What is so special about these bandits?"

"These are not bandits Louise, they are Stormcloaks, rebels that started the civil war months ago. Just some hours ago we captured their leader, Ulfric. This is the best chance we have to finish the war."

"Like Reconquista."

"What?"

"Reconquista, a group of nobles that started a civil war in Albion, one of our neighboring kingdoms. It's still going on."

"I guess we have that in common."

"I guess."

Thinking about her home and without knowing how much time would pass before she could return, Louise terminated that conversation.

* * *

><p>The sight of Helgen was certainly impressive, nothing in comparison to the biggest Tristanian cities, like the capital or even the port of La Rochelle in Gallia, but it was an imposing construction without doubt. More fortress than town, it had been carved on the side of the nearby mountains.<p>

"What will happen to me now?"

"I will leave you at the local inn, the owner is called Vilod, he is a good man. Tell him that I sent you and stay there."

"And then what? I can't just remain alone inside a tavern."

"Don't worry, after we are done I will take you to one of our mages, they can help you with figuring out what happened to you."

"Good to know."

Crossing the wooden gates Louise could see there were many commoners surrounding the streets, all of them contemplating in silence the march of the legionnaires.

Hadvar rode towards a nearby building. A sign spelling 'Helgen Homestead' hung outside the door.

"This is it. Stay here with Vilod until I arrange what to do with you. Watch out."

Louise descended from the steed she had been sharing with the man and looked with some doubt at the sorry state of her current accommodations. She wanted to complain, but Hadvar was already gone.

It was understandable that the plebeians didn't share the same establishments that nobles did, but would some decency be so out of question? The front door didn't close properly, the chairs that she could see from the windows looked extremely uncomfortable, some parts of the ceiling were missing and the least she knew about the smell coming from the inside, the better.

A freezing breeze made Louise shiver. Once again she had to be grateful for the coat Hadvar had given her.

It was Hadvar's, wasn't it? Now that she thought about it she had never asked the man about it, but she doubted it belonged to Fasendil, the legate wouldn't find any goodness in his heart to help anyone, not even a fellow magician.

Before accepting her fate and entering the building, the sound of a child's voice from a nearby house distracted her.

"Who are they, daddy? Where are they going?"

"You need to go inside, little cub."

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers."

"Inside the house. Now."

"Yes, papa."

And Louise decided that, yes, she did want to see the soldiers. When the next best option was staying inside that watering hole, there wasn't much to think about.

So, tightening the fur cloak around her body, she followed the road Hadvar had taken.

* * *

><p>The town was almost deserted now, at least of civilians, as the legionaries took over the streets making sure to keep a close eye on everything suspicious. Suspicious like, for example, a sixteen year old girl (she had been very clear about that), trying to gain entrance to the keep's plaza. A girl who had, incidentally, pink hair and a big mouth.<p>

"No? What do you mean with no?"

"You are not allowed to pass, authorized personnel only"

The sentry, a Red Guard descendant named Avik, really didn't have time for this. It was bad enough that he had been given the very important, very stressful job of guarding the main entry to the chopping plaza in case some rebel scum tried to enter. He didn't want to deal with spoiled midgets too.

"Don't you know who you are talking to?"

"Blah, blah, blah Valliére blah, blah, blah noble blah, blah, blah ' I DON'T FUCKING CARE. Even in Hammerfell they heard you! Now clear the street or I am throwing you in the nearest cell I can find!"

Reluctantly Louise decided she didn't have the time to deal with that stubborn mule.

"Coarse, ignorant, vulgar, dog! How does he dare to talk to me like that?"

Making her way around the stone walls she found a quiet and secluded corner to sit down, next to what seemed to be a collection of construction equipment. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, what was the point of all this anyway?

_'I should just get back. That inn can't be that bad. But I wouldn't know anyone there! Hadvar or even the legate would be better company.'_

Resigned, Louise tried to stand up to return to that Vilod's place, but found herself back on the ground when her coat got tangled with something.

"Stupid thing" She muttered. Turning to try and free it, and took the chance to finally pay attention to over what she had been sitting on.

"He he he he"

No one could say that a Valliére didn't get what she wanted.

* * *

><p>"That girl is an idiot."<p>

"What was that legate?"

"Nothing madam, I just noticed that we lack sentries on our western walls."

"The general sent them to the palisades to act as early warning."

"That doesn't sound very sensible."

"With most of the men searching the outskirts for Stormcloaks we lack full personnel. Worst case scenario we will know with enough time if we are under attack. Besides, we have enough archers here to fill Ulric with arrows if something goes wrong."

"Fair enough, but I will go and check just in case"

"Don't wander for too long, we are about to begin"

"Don't worry captain, I wouldn't dare to miss it."

* * *

><p>It was such a brilliant plan, one could say even foolproof. With all the guards waiting for an attack from the outside, she would be free to sneak in. Finding that ladder had been incredibly fortuitous, so after putting it against the wall (damn it was heavy!) she climbed inside the keep.<p>

She ended some five meters above the ground, but using some catwalks and then some bushes as cushions Louise managed to get to ground level next to a tall wooden building, an armory maybe?

Walking as quietly as she possibly could Louise managed to get behind some barrels at the edge of the plaza.

"All present and accounted for, Sir."

That was Hadvar. She had found him! She could also see the rebels, why were they there in the middle of the place? They should be locked away already. If she could just get a little clos…

"GyMphhMphhmmm!"

"You are a complete idiot you know."

What? Fasendil! How could he have found her? She had been so sneaky.

"And damn lucky on top of that. Now I am going to pull off my hand and I want you to remain quiet, understood?"

"WhaMmhhh!"

"I said _quiet._"

Louise just nodded with her head.

"Good," Fasendil pulled Louise behind the building she had landed next to, so no one could see them, and with a stare he froze her in place, "So, tell me, do you have the least idea of what you almost did?"

Louise vigorously shook her head from side to side.

"Of course you don't. We are here to execute the greatest traitor of the Fourth Era and a stupid child is about to make everyone freak out."

These men, they weren't going to be imprisoned? They were going to be executed? For the briefest of moments her eyes wandered to the sky. And she saw movement.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero." Louise heard a distant voice talking. "But a Hero doesn't use a power like the Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne"

"Founder."

"Shut up. I haven't stopped talking. If I hadn't found you first you would be dead, besides…" He kept speaking, but Louise was no longer paying attention, because at that moment her concentration was focused on the sky behind Fasendil, and the shadow flying around it "Pay attention, you moron!"

"There was a dragon there."

"What? You pretend I…"

**Ggggggrrrrrrrraaaaaaa!**

"What was that?" Louise heard someone asking.

"Nothing of concern. Priestess, carry on"

Did she hear it right? Priestess? That meant they were administering the final rites to the condemned!

_'Dear Founder, I don't want to be here, don't want to see those people die.'_

"Stay here and don't move, I will try fix your mess when we finish here."

And he left her there, alone. Her body concealed behind some crates. Desperately trying to not think too hard about the awful place she was.

_'I should have stayed, why I didn't listen? Idiot, idiot, idiot. Why do I have to ruin everything I do?'_

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved..."

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with."

"As you wish."

_'What? No, please, no. Are they starting early atop all things?'_

She closed her eyes as hard as she could. Covered her ears. And waited.

That man, the one that had interrupted the priestess, was he already dead? How much time would it take? She started to hyperventilate. Would it be safe to listen?

Louise slowly uncovered her ears.

*_Shunk_*

_'Oh founder.'_

The axe striking, and then the sound of a small object hitting the ground.

_'He was a rebel, a traitor! He was a sinner in the eyes of men and God, killing him was the right thing to do!'_

Louise kept repeating those words, as tears ran across her cheeks.

"Well," Someone continued, Louise no longer caring who that was, "Let's get to the main event. Ulfric Stormcloak!"

The rebel leader, the assassin of kings, he who had sent brothers to kill brothers. Louise needed to see him, needed to see how a monster like that looked.

Slowly Louise rose from behind her covers, just barely enough to take a quick peek.

Was that him? The one she saw walking towards the executioner didn't look like a barbarian, a demon of black heart as so many of the books she had read pictured villains like him. He, Ulfric, looked even handsome, with clean hair and a well maintained beard. With the fine clothes he was wearing Ulfric wouldn't look out of place in the Tristanian court. Why had he been gagged? Were the Imperials so afraid of him that they wouldn't even give him the right of a last word? If he was a noble, even a traitor, that should be basic courtesy!

**Ggggggrrrrrrrraaaaaaa!**

Louise turned her head skyward, alongside most of the assembly. That had been louder than last time.

"There it is again."

"It's nothing, Carry on!"

One of the legionnaires grabbed Ulfric and forced his head down onto the execution block. From her position, Louise had a clear view of it. She was too focused to see Fasendil making his way next to Tullius.

"General, that sound…"

"Not now Legate!"

"I must insist, sir."

"Then take it to Alliana! Carry on!"

Soon it would be over. The war would be over. It was so close!

Ulfric had his head over the execution block.

The headman raised his axe.

And then…

Then-

"What in Oblivion is that?!"

Then all hell broke loose.

...

* * *

><p>AN: So, it finally happened, after having this story in my head for more than a year I decided to sit down and start writing. This is my first story, ever, so criticism will be welcome.

I hope you enjoyed my first chapter as much I enjoyed writing it and stay tune for chapter 2.


	2. Chapter 2

_First, a round of applauds to my beta readers __SilverIceRing__ and __Fragment of ring, they deserve that._

Under strange skies

Chapter two

When you stare into Oblivion, Oblivion stares back at you

* * *

><p><em>Endlessly it shall form and reform around you, deeds as entities, all-systems only an hour before they bloom to zero-sums, flowering like vestments, divine raiment worn to dance at Lord Dagon's golden feet.<em>

* * *

><p>There were many things she would never forget about that day.<p>

The screams of the dead and dying as the flames crawled through the ground.

The heat of the all-consuming inferno that threatened to engulf her at any moment.

But among all else was the smell. The smell of ash and cinders, of blood and meat, that impregnated her nostrils.

* * *

><p>Louise observed speechless. She had seen many dragons, but none like this one. Easily twice as big as any other and black as night, it descended onto a nearby tower, the air pressure it produced enough to knock the headsman down.<p>

"Don't just stand there! Kill that thing!"

"Guards, get the townspeople to safety!"

Some attempted to bring order to the chaos that was spreading, but as soon that thing appeared it was like madness had taken over the whole fortress. Arrows bounced off its skin as if they were made of paper. Mages stroked with fire, ice and lightning but with its body hidden beneath one of its mighty wings, the beast remained unharmed.

"Fall, damn you, fall!"

And then it _spoke._ It spoke with a profound and brutal voice. In some arcane language Louise couldn't recognize.

"Fus… Ro… Da!"

Just those words were enough to push both soldiers and mages alike aside. Some were thrown back as if they were dolls. Some would never rise again. Such a powerful wind blast, even from her position she felt the pressure. Could it be able to rival even the great Heavy Wind?

'_A rhyme dragon!' _Was that really one of the great creatures of legend?

The beast remained calm, observing the destruction it had brought, but it was far from over.

"Yol… Toor… Shul!"

The armory she had been using as cover exploded in a sea of flames. Breathing became increasingly difficult as smoke saturated the air.

Louise kneeled, desperately trying to get some air. Her eyes burned, blurred with tears, but she managed to recognize some shapes around her.

She was surrounded by bodies, all imperial, some with their necks bent in strange positions, others with their throats sliced. These legionaries hadn't died by the flames of the beast, but by the hand of men.

'_The rebels. They are free.'_

"Hey, you. Get up! Come on, the Gods won't give us another chance!" Someone near called for her.

Had he said gods? As in plural? She didn't have the time to delve into that. Feeling the adrenaline overloading her for the second time that day she forced her legs to move, as fireballs rained from the sky and splinters were launched in every direction from the ensuing explosions.

"In here. This way! Come on!"

Stumbling she reached a tall tower, her savior waiting at the door. He pushed her inside the stone building.

And Louise de la Valliére came face to face with Ulfric Stormcloak.

* * *

><p>Louise wasn't a stranger about standing at the spotlight, be it in front of foreign nobles visiting her family's state or in front of classmates waiting for an excuse to mock her. But being at the receiving end of the combined stares of four rebel warriors (one their leader) was an entirely new experience.<p>

"Jarl Ulfric! What is that thing? Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages. Who is this one?"

"Don't know" The man shrugged "she was outside. I wasn't going to leave her there."

"Your responsibility, Ralof. We must…" Whatever else he was trying to say was muted when, with a thunderous howl, the whole tower trembled. "We need to move. Now!"

"Up through the tower, let's go!"

Firmly grabbed by the arm by Ralof, Louise followed close behind up the staircase, only to find their way blocked by some debris.

"Damn." cursed Ralof.

"We just need to move some of these rocks to clear the way!"

One of the Stormcloaks stepped forward and grabbed one of the heavy boulders. Both Ralof and Ulfric followed through, while another guarded the entrance.

Louise hesitated. She was unsure if she should help them. They were criminals, but the sooner they finished their job the sooner she would get out of there.

They had saved her life.

Before making up her mind, she heard a sound. Scratching. Then the wall was blown apart.

Ulfric, reacting with a speed honed by decades of fighting, grabbed Ralof and pulled back. His other companion, petrified under the gaze of the great dragon, was unable to act.

"Toor… Shul!"

The young girl could only watch in mute horror as the warrior's body was immolated in front of her eyes.

"Soran!"

Wielding his stolen sword Ralof tried to charge at the beast that had murdered his friend, but the strong hand of Jarl Ulfric stopped him.

"My Lord!"

Ralof tried to break free from Ulfric's grip, but the dragon was already gone.

"Your death would be useless to me."

"I… I'm sorry my Lord. The Nine gave us another chance; we can't let it go to waste."

Getting closer to the breach the beast had left behind Ulfric could contemplate how it was slowly reducing the town of Helgen to ashes. The wind brought the screams of pain from its victims.

"I don't believe the Gods have anything to do with this, Ralof."

"Jarl Ulfric!" called a voice from the lower levels of the tower. "We have wounded."

"We will carry them on our backs. From here I can see the nearby buildings. We can jump to the roofs and…"

Before he could finish his plan, the girl that had been accompanying them had already jumped through the breach.

* * *

><p>Hearing Ulfric was what kicked her out of her bewilderment. She hadn't been wrong! The Stormcloaks were heretics.<p>

Why had they saved her?

'_Surely because they don't know I'm a follower of Brimir.'_

So, when the Jarl revealed his plan to escape, she took the initiative. With a quick sprint, she jumped through the opening the dragon had left in its passing. Four meters separated her from the closest structure. She almost didn't make it.

'_But, no one here has heard of the Founder. Does that mean…'_

She felt a great relief when she finally sensed her feet touching a solid surface. Unfortunately the straw structure hadn't been constructed to support a human being, and it collapsed under her weight.

Her body impacted heavily on the wooden floor. Was at that moment that her brain chose to go blank, and she forgot everything her father had ever taught her about how to fall from horses.

"Agh!"

She tried to soften the blow with her arms, but the only thing she managed to do was fill her hands with splinters and twist her wrist.

'_Bend the knees and roll._

_Bend the knees and roll, you idiot.'_

Stunned and winded she put all her effort in trying to get to her feet. Her hands were bloody and her right arm burned in pain.

The entire world started to spin around her. Dazed, Louise tried to use a nearby chair as support. But when her hand closed around one of its legs, she felt the splinters digging deep into her skin.

"Ahhhhh!"

Her eyes started to moisten.

'_No. I'm stronger than this. I won't cry'_

Utilizing her forearms in order to protect her hands she finally managed to rise. Making her way around fallen chairs and tables, she could recognize where she was.

"Helgen Homestead."

The inn was deserted. Part of the wooden structure had caught fire and one of the walls had crumbled. This was the tavern where Hadvar had left her, where she was supposed to wait for him.

If she had listened, if she had stayed there, would she be dead already?

"Haming, get over here!" That voice! "Haming, you need to get over here. Now!"

Hadvar. Finally a friendly face inside this nightmare!

With his sword unsheathed, he was protecting a kid and an old man. Dodging the debris Louise ran to the reencounter with the Legionnaire.

"Hadvar!"

"Louise! Thanks the Gods you are still alive!"

Louise stopped on a dime.

They didn't know about the Founder.

They had mentioned 'The Eight'.

She took a step back.

The legionnaire must have seen the hesitation in her face.

"Louise, what's wrong?"

"Yol… Toor… Shul!"

"Tarolf, take cover!"

Before she could react, the Legionnaire grabbed Louise and pressed her body against a nearby wall. With his body he protected her from the flames that spread from the nearby street.

"Ahhh!"

"Papa!"

* * *

><p>Louise had heard the screams, but she hadn't seen the bodies. She had recognized the corpses of the slayed imperials, but the smoke and the irritation on her eyes had blurred the details. She had seen how the Stormcloak was incinerated by the dragon's breath, but the remains had been a shapeless coal sculpture.<p>

Torolf still clung to his life.

He had escaped the direct effect of the flames, but his body had boiled under the heat. His hair was charred, his eyes had been blinded and his skin was falling apart. With his last breath, he took his son's face between his hands. And with his last words, bid farewell.

"I'm done for, little cub. Go. Make me proud."

His arms felt lifeless.

"Papa. Papa!"

Haming hurled over the body of his deceased father, and cried bitterly.

Heretics, barbarians and savages that dared to upset the order across the Kingdoms of Brimir.

Brimir's followers were different. They were better.

Yet…

A father that had done everything in his power to protect his son.

A son that mourned the death of his father.

And a courageous soldier that was trying to save them all.

'_What is happening here? They are just like me.'_

"I'm sorry Haming."

Seizing him between his arms Hadvar separated the boy from his father's body.

"No! Leave me!"

"Haming! Torolf entrusted you with something" Hadvar gently shook him, looking in his eyes "something important. He wanted you to make him feel proud. Will you disobey him now?"

The boy couldn't answer. His voice had been muted, but his response was obvious.

"Gunnar, I must find general Tullius and join the defense. I leave them under your charge."

"You can trust me." The man nodded, standing upright.

"No, I'm coming with you." Louise's voice interrupted.

"What? No, please listen to me here. If you stay with Gunnar and…"

"No! You will listen _to me_. I am the third daughter of the Douches de la Valliére; you don't have any authority over me! I will help you even if you don't want to."

"That thing will eat you!"

"Then I will give it indigestion!"

"I don't think there's any reasoning with her, Hadvar."

Not even Gunnar supported him in this. The legionnaire looked at Louise, defeated.

"Just… just be careful, all right?"

* * *

><p>After abandoning Haming and Gunnar, Hadvar guided Louise across the ruined roads of the town. They had found many charred bodies in their way. Louise was no longer as affected as she was at the beginning, but looking at them was still difficult. Especially when they found remains too small to belong to adults.<p>

Her wrist no longer hurt as much, so she used the trip to clean her hands from the splinters. They still bled a little. Deciding that her clothes were unsalvageable after what they had endured, she tore off some pieces from her Academy's cape and used them as makeshift bandages.

The battle seemed far from over. Every now and then they could hear the terrible howls of the beast, or they could see a stray spell passing over their heads.

"Over here!"

"Coming!"

While crossing a narrow path between the stone wall and a nearby building, a shadow covered the sun. A shadow they had learnt to recognize very well.

"Stay close to the wall!"

To her credit, Louise reacted almost as fast as Hadvar.

The powerful rhyme dragon landed on top of the wall, one of its wings resting just over where Louise was. Once again it cast its devastating spell.

"Yol… Toor… Shul!"

The screams of agony that always followed still troubled Louise, but they were getting easier to endure.

"Pahlok joorre! Hin kah fen kos bonaar!"

Before mages and archers could organize a counterattack, the beast was again in the air.

"Go, go, go!"

Without losing a beat, they moved forward. Crossing the ruins of a house to their right, Louise dodged a fallen wooden pillar, jogged to her left and finally exited into a big, open marketplace where the defenders had sheltered.

With doors, carts and tables they had erected some hastened defenses. They would be useless, but the fake sense of security they provided was the only thing preventing the soldier from falling prey of panic.

Even with the smoke blocking her view, Louise could see how some archers were still trying to bring the beast down.

"Hadvar, is that you?"

One of the defenders quickly rushed to their meeting. With his face covered in bandages it was difficult to recognize any characteristic feature. Her companion, however, recognized him with ease.

"Avik? Ha! I knew that thing wouldn't take you that easily."

"And not because it didn't try." The two friends hugged each other before Avik's attention fell on Louise. "Don't tell me you know the midget."

"Hey!" She scowled.

"She's a friend, Avik. Where's the General?"

"Near the town's well."

"I'm going to report. Take care, mate."

"Always." Avik smiled through his bandages and they departed.

* * *

><p>The improvised encampment was packed with the wounded. Most of them were wearing tunics that marked them as mages. It was obvious the dragon was intelligent; it had gone for the greater threats first.<p>

"Tell my family I fought bravely."

"The wounds are deep Vilod, I can't stop the bleeding."

Was that Vilod? Hadvar's friend? Hadn´t he just heard he was dying over there? But the legionnaire remained immutable, walking decidedly onwards.

At the center of the marketplace was Tullius, shouting orders to his soldiers, making everything in his power to maintain order.

"Sir!"

"Hadvar, I see you are alive. Who is this one?"

Recalling everything she knew about military protocol, Louise stepped forward and gave the general a quick salute.

"Lord General, I am Louise de la Valliére, foreign noble from the illustrious Kingdom of Tristain willing to lend services."

"And what are you supposed to do?" He asked, dubious.

"Everything in my power to help."

Tullius stared directly at her eyes, but Louise didn´t flinch. Her mother had taught her very early in her life that to avert one's gaze was a sign of weakness, something a noble could never permit.

"That's more than what most people here are in position to do. Very well, consider yourself temporally recruited. Hadvar, we are leaving. You two go to the keep and make sure the exits are safe."

"Sir!"

Hadvar headed north at full speed, with Louise closely behind.

"The keep? Why are we getting back in there?" She asked, feeling how step after step breathing became more difficult. She could barely feel her legs, but she couldn't stop now. Tomorrow, decided, she wouldn't get out of bed.

'_If I make it to tomorrow.' _Her mind reminded her.

"There's a network of tunnels that run under the mountain, connecting the keep with the outside. We can use them to evacuate." He explained on the march.

"Why does something like that exists? What if the enemy uses them to get inside?"

"The entrance is well hidden, and well-guarded from within. Come, it's after the next corner."

The fortifications that had looked so imposing at first now were in ruins. Big sections had fallen apart. Making use of one of these breaches the noble and the legionnaire made their way inside, where all the destruction had started.

But they weren't the first to arrive. Someone was already there.

"Ralof!" exclaimed Hadvar, unsheathing his sword. "You damned traitor, out of our way!"

That was the renegade that was traveling with Ulric! But where was Ulfric? Weren't they jumping from rooftop to rooftop?

Ralof turned to face Hadvar, his own sword on hand.

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You are not stopping us this time."

Louise looked at the two men, now ready to kill each other. What to do? She didn't have her wand. She had never been in a serious fight in her entire life! She would just be a nuisance.

Even if she tried, she couldn't forget Ralof had saved her life.

**Ggggggrrrrrrrrraaaaaaa!**

Her heart skipped a beat. That had sounded very close.

"Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde."

The two enemies realized that getting away from the dragon was a higher priority and broke apart, each one running into a different direction.

'_Thanks Founder'_

"With me, Louise." Hadvar called "We are almost there."

Evading the rubble and scorched wreckage she could already see the wooden door that was their destination. Just a few more meters!

"Fus… Ro… Da…!"

And everything went black.

* * *

><p>Pain.<p>

Pain that inundated her entire body and overwhelmed her senses.

Her body had crashed violently against the side of a wooden cart. She had to be thankful that neither her head nor neck had broken with the impact.

Straightening up, she focused her sight, and saw it. An atrocious creature. The rhyme dragon had landed just a few meters from her. It was glaring at her with malevolence.

Louise wanted to flee, put her legs no longer reacted. All the exhaustion and suffering had finally overcome her.

She wanted to scream, but the only thing she managed to do was to spit a blend of blood and bile, and what she believed was a tooth.

The dragon moved. It was curious it didn't have forearms, in its place using its wings to crawl over the ground.

"Yol…"

So, that was it? That's how it ended? She had promised her family that she would triumph at the Academy. That she would become a great mage. She hadn't accomplished anything. She had told Hadvar and general Tullius she could help. She had done nothing.

"Toor…"

Her life was a failure and now she would die as a failure. It was better that way. Here, in this forgotten land she would surely be buried in a grave with no name. Her disappearance back in Tristain would become a side note in history, too insignificant to embarrass her family.

She closed her eyes and hoped it would be quick.

"S…!"

_Fhoom!_

Ggggrrrraaaa!

The beast roared, but that was a roar of pain!

_Fhoom!_

_Fhoom!_

_Fhoom!_

Louise opened her eyes and saw how fireball after fireball impacted the beast's exposed flank.

'_Who?'_

Running through smoke and fire, through ruins and wrecks, with a sword in his right hand and eldritch energies in his left, Legate Fasendil charged the beast.

With one of its mighty wings the dragon tried to attack, but rolling forward Fasendil dodged the assault and with a quick hack from his sword he cut at its neck.

With its powerful jaws it tried to bite him, but the Legate was prepared. With the momentum he carried, Fasendil jumped to the side and with fire he attacked its head.

Louise wanted to celebrate, to stand and cheer for her savior.

But she couldn't.

Because, at some point, the legate had lost his helmet. And the only thing Louise could see were the pointy ears of an elf.

"Fly, you fools!"

Someone, Hadvar, put her over his shoulders and together they entered the fortress, as one of the last standing sections of the walls crumbled behind them, blocking the entrance.

* * *

><p>"Shit," exclaimed Hadvar. "The rest won't be able to come through here."<p>

It was a miracle the stone structure hadn't fallen over their heads. But with that way closed the general and the rest of the refugees would have to find another escape route.

"An elf…"

"Louise, wait…"

"He was an elf! And you have him here! Are you idiots? Are you…?"

_Slap_

"Do you think they are all the same? Do you think they are all just like the fucking Thalmor?"

Louise raised her hand to her cheek.

'_That… that… dog dared to smack me!'_

"You…"

"No, this time is your turn to listen to me." The legionnaire grabbed her from the shoulders and stared directly to her eyes. "Fasendil, that elf, that legionnaire, is my friend."

"He is an elf! Elves are monsters, murderers …"

"He saved your life!"

"…"

Hadvar took a knee and lowered himself so he could be at the same level with Louise.

"He saved your life here and he saved your life when we found you."

"What?" She asked with a faltering voice.

"When we found you, you weren't breathing. I gave you for dead, but Fasendil's magic saved you."

An elf had healed her? No, no. That couldn't be right. Elves were the enemies; they had always been since they expelled her ancestors from the Holy Land. To have spent time next to one, to have talked with one, to have come to consider one a… a… was inconceivable.

"I don't know what elves did in your land, but you aren't the only ones that suffered from their hands. We lost much to the Thalmor. Many lives wasted, many homes destroyed, but not all Altmer are the same. Many refused to fight for them, many tried to help us. They were the first ones to be murdered at the beginning of the war."

Louise doubted that. But, could it be true? Elves fighting alongside humans?

"So, I ask again: can you accept that not all of them are like the Thalmor?"

"I…I don't know if I can."

"Then, can you accept that one of them risked his life to save yours because he believed it was the right thing to do?"

It was too much. Too complicated. She had lived all her life in fear of the elves. In fear of the stories people told about them. How they ate human flesh and how they stole children from their cradles.

'_But… just maybe…'_

"I think I can do that."

"That's all I ask for."

Hadvar rose and gave her a pat on the back.

"Well, the way out is blocked and we have some time. Come."

Louise followed Hadvar to a nearby trunk. He opened it and took something from its interior.

"Ever used one of this?"

Louise looked at him incredulously. In his hand, he had a sword.

"No! Never! That weapon is for… for…"

"Savages?"

"Commoners."

"I have been called worse," He said smiling. "But you will have to learn how to use it anyway. This is not over yet."

Hadvar put the sword aside and kept searching inside the trunk.

"But we are safe here." Louise looked around, at their supposedly safe haven.

"I hope so," He answered without distracting from his job. "But you saw the Stormcloak outside, didn't you?"

'_Ralof'_

"Yes."

"There were around eighty rebel prisoners, maybe more. I don't know how many could be inside here."

Louise no longer knew what to think about that. The last hours had taken their toll on her.

"And this is all."

In front of her Hadvar had arranged a set of leather armor: cuirass, helmet, bracers, greaves and faulds. It was amazing those were her size.

"Standard Lorica for Bosmers. There isn't a single Bosmer legionnaire in all of Skyrim, but now I'm happy they make us keep this."

"You expect me to wear that?"

"Yes. I will go in front, but if something happens to me and I can't protect you, you will have to do it yourself. You can put it over your clothes if you wish."

Louise observed the armor. It was ugly and surely uncomfortable.

"Fine." She groaned, defeated.

"Need help?"

"Of course not! I can do it alone."

"As you wish. I will go and check the room for anything useful."

She examined the armor again. She had been reduced to this? To have to wear the armors of the peasantry? To have to fight like them?

With her tongue she touched the space one of her canines used to occupy. If she had been wearing armor like this, would she still have it?

'_I guess I'm out of options.'_

She untied her fur coat and unlocked the broach that kept her cape in place. Of all her clothes the only thing that remained relatively intact was the coat. That shouldn't be surprising, it was obvious the thing had been made to last.

* * *

><p>"Finished here."<p>

"Over here too. Let me check how you placed it."

"Mph."

Louise didn't really like the idea of this man touching her, but supposed she could trust Hadvar. The legionnaire had been a gentleman so far. But, just in case, her hand slowly moved to the sword she carried at her belt.

"All right, let me check how much of a good work you did."

Well, that was strange. Rookies spent several weeks learning all about their armors. Learning all their knots, pieces, wrinkles and how to set everything together. This girl…

"Mmmm."

Hadvar stood thoughtful in front of her.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked upset.

"Sure you never used armor before?"

"Pretty sure. I just put it on as I believed was right."

"And it's all right. Well done! You have talent for this."

'_Of course I would be good at something like this. I can't cast a single spell, but when it comes to one of this serf thing I do it right in my first try.'_

Hadvar headed to the door just opposite from where they had entered. With a key he had found during his search he unlocked it.

"Ready?"

"Of course not!"

"Just remember to stay away and let me handle things." Hadvar grabbed a knapsack he had prepared before and threw it in her direction. "Catch."

Louise grabbed it midair and inspected it. It was a backpack with several pockets and some things inside.

"Legionnaire marching pack. I put some supplies inside and some gold coins I found here."

"Coins? Is it correct that we take them?"

"We must do what we can with what we have. We will need money once we are outside and I prefer we take it and not some enemy."

"That's true, I guess."

"Well, the dragon is still out there and we have to move. Ready?"

"I already told you that no!"

Hadvar opened the door and together they went deep into the fortress.

* * *

><p>"We need to get moving! That dragon is tearing up the whole keep!"<p>

"Just give me a minute... I'm out of breath..."

From her hiding place next to the entrance to the room Louise could recognize the voices of a man and a woman.

"Hear that? Stormcloaks," Hadvar confirmed. "Maybe I can reason with them."

Louise unsheathed her sword and remained behind, still nervous. She barely knew where to grab the damn thing from! She wasn't sure what would happen if Hadvar came to need her help.

The legionnaire advanced to the encounter of the two warriors.

"Hold on, now, we only want to..." The sound of the Stormcloaks readying their own weapons stopped him.

"Victory or Sovngarde!"

"If you want to die, so be it."

The enemies charged. Hadvar was outnumbered, but he was the better combatant. The man, sword at hand, attacked first, but he was tired and the legionnaire easily parried the first blow with his own blade before using his shield to push the Stormcloak in the way of the woman trying to split him with her axe.

With her companion between them, the female warrior had to step sideways to attack Hadvar, but he was already in motion and out of reach.

From her place Louise watched, impressed. She had seen some magic duels, but this swordplay had something special, something hypnotic. Whereas his opponents were tired and clumsy, each of Hadvard's movements was precise, controlled. There was a method behind his combat that Louise was trying to decipher. His body was always in motion, never standing still. Each step was carefully calculated so that one Stormcloak would always end in the other's way, always hindering each other so they couldn´t surround their opponent. If Louise ever had to fight alongside Hadvar she had to remember that.

"Aghhh!"

"Jurgen!"

And she had to keep in mind something more, something her mother had said when Louise was young. In any battle it didn't matter the experience, the power or the skill of the fighters, it only mattered who was the first to make a mistake. Because the first to make one was usually was the first to die.

Jurgen had been the first to do something wrong. Nervous, he rushed past his companion and tried for a two-handed vertical slash. He was too slow. Hadvar easily blocked the sword with his shield before stabbing the unprotected belly. He was dead before hitting the ground.

"Bastard!"

Enraged the woman attacked. Her weapon was dangerous; if Hadvar tried to block it the only thing he would get was a broken arm. However, the axe was heavy; each swing he evaded meant several vital seconds she had to use to readjust it. Taking advantage of one of those openings, the legionnaire tried to cut her, but the Stormcloak was faster and with a leap backwards she escaped his reach.

Louise's mind paralyzed. With that jump the woman had ended at the entrance of the room, just next to her hiding spot, and she hadn't seen her! The enemy was ignorant of her presence and had her back completely exposed! This was her chance.

She closed her eyes and with a vicious horizontal movement Louise cut the woman's left knee. She felt the blood splashing over her hands.

"Agh…"

With the tendons severed the woman fell, screaming in pain. But her shouts were violently silenced when with a fast movement Hadvar slashed her throat.

'_I killed her.'_

She had done it. It didn't matter that someone else had landed the finishing blow; it was her hand that had allowed that.

She wasn't ignorant. She knew many nobles considered commoners as little more than animals, cattle to be disposed of. The Valliére had never shared that mentality. She had just killed another human being, one of the greatest sins against God.

"Louise! Are you all right?" The legionnaire asked, with concern in his voice.

'_No. I can't break down. I am stronger than this. As steel.'_

She shook her head.

"I'm fine." Louise stood up; ignoring the hand Hadvar was trying to lend her.

"You don't look fine."

"I am fine! I did what I had to. And I will do it again if I need to!"

Paying no attention to the still warm bodies, together they continued their march.

"I'm very sorry you had to go through that."

"Me too," Louise muttered softly, too low for the legionnaire to hear her.

* * *

><p>"Careful!"<p>

The whole structure trembled and a considerable section of the stone ceiling collapsed in front of them.

'_Two more meters and…'_ Louise didn't want to think about that.

There have been, how many? One, two, three hours since the dragon had stopped the execution? She could no longer know that. But if the beast was still outside that meant soldiers were still fighting it. How many would survive the day?

"Come, through the storerooms we can go around this."

Hadvar approached a door to their right with Louise close behind. This was the routine they had adapted to. Hadvar would enter first to divert any enemy's attention, with Louise entering some seconds later to take them by surprise.

She didn't like that, it wasn't honorable. But what other use had a mage that couldn't cast a single spell? At least it worked. In theory in any case, since they hadn't found more rebels since last time.

"Ready."

"Ready."

Hadvar kicked the door and stormed in. Louise remained behind, waiting for the sound of battle or the all-clear.

"It's empty. You can…"

Silence.

"Hadvar? Hadvar!"

Louise entered, sword in hand. What had happened? Why had he gone silent? Had he been ambushed?

She sighed, relieved, when she found the legionnaire safe and sound. He was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by corpses. Most were rebels, but at his feet was an imperial one.

"Is that…?"

"Captain Alliana." He kneeled besides her and with his hand closed her eyes. "You didn't go without a fight, did you?"

"My condolences." Louise whispered.

Hadvar remained quiet. He crossed the captain's arms over her body and took her shield.

"Here. The captain can't use it anymore. It will be more useful to you."

Louise received it in her hands. It was heavy, but not as much as she was expecting. She could fight with it.

With a final farewell Hadvar rose and continued his march. Louise gave the body a last look before joining.

There was one thing she wanted to ask the soldier since the marketplace, but with all the constant threats to her life, she had forgotten. Finding the deceased Alliana reminded her of that.

"Hadvar, how can you…"

"Wait! Hear that?"

Louise sharpened her ear, trying to listen to what had put the legionnaire on edge. It was a distant sound, of metal against metal.

"Battle."

Without losing one beat the two companions rushed out of the storeroom, the sound of the fight getting louder with every step.

Hadvar was faster and was the first to join the fray.

The room they were fighting in was huge, full of cells and strange equipment Louise didn't really want to know what was for. A mage launching electricity from his hands (_please, not another elf_) was keeping three enemies on check wile Hadvar and another legionnaire faced other two Stormcloaks.

Louise sped up to support them.

She made a mistake.

Because there weren't five enemies, there were six. A rapid reaction and the durable shield of the captain were the only things that stopped the last Stormcloak from bisecting her head.

The pressure over her arms was too much and almost knocked her down, but this time she knew what to do. Flexing her knees she rolled to the side, putting some much needed distance between her and her assailant.

She recovered quickly, just in time to evade a flurry of attacks.

'_In movement. In movement. Always in movement.'_

Remembering what she had seen in Hadvard's battle, she commenced her counterattack.

She swung her sword trying to cut the warrior's left arm, but he parried the attack with ease. Just as intended. With all her ferocity Louise tried to hit his exposed side with her shield, but was too slow and he jumped out of reach.

"Louise!" She heard Hadvar shouting. This one was her responsibility; she couldn't let him get distracted from his own fight.

The Stormcloak attacked again, with greater intensity. The first slash, she managed to stop with the shield, but she lost her footing. She blocked the second, but she fell on her back. Before the third one finished the job, she let go of the shield and rolled to her left. Her hand came to rest over some fine powder.

'_Sand?'_

The Stormcloak charged, but Louise was ready. She grabbed a handful of the sand she had found and threw it at her opponent's face. He screamed in pain and launched attacks in every direction, but only managed to cut the air.

Taking her chance, Louise prepared. She jumped behind the warrior and, with a movement she had repeated more than a hundred times in her mind, cut his knees.

He fell over one leg.

Louise held her sword with her two hands and stabbed his back.

His body collapsed, but he was still trying to support his weight with his arms.

'_Why don't you die?'_

She stabbed again. And again…

She didn't know how much it took to kill a man, so she just kept stabbing.

One time…

Two times…

Three…

Four…

"Lou…"

Eight…

Nine…

"…uise!"

Sixteen…

Seventeen…

"Louise!"

A strong hand held her from the arm, stopping her motion.

"It's over Louise. It's over."

'_Over?'_

She looked around.

Two bleeding bodies, slain by sword.

Three bodies still spasming, slayed by magic.

And only one…

"Founder"

That had been torn apart.

Sick, Louise leaned to a side and emptied her stomach. Hadvar put a hand over her shoulder. She had never felt more grateful for that simple gesture.

"Oh, please, tell me this isn't her first time. First timers always make such a mess!"

Ignoring the torturer's rant, Hadvar helped Louise to her feet.

"And could you not have used all my bone meal? Now I will have to make more!"

Bone meal? It wasn't sand? She felt sick again, but there was nothing more to throw up.

"Why don't you shut up old fart?"

"Check your thong boy, this is my territory. I'm in charge here. But I guess I should be thankful. These boys seemed a bit upset at how I've been entertaining their comrades."

"Don't you even know what's going on? A dragon is attacking Helgen!"

"A dragon? Please. Don't make up nonsense. Although, come to think of it, I did hear some odd noises coming from over there."

Hadvar helped Louise to sit at a nearby chair, while muttering something about 'son of a hagraven'. She didn't know what that was, but she agreed.

"Are you coming with us? Your magic could be of use."

"I'm not moving from here, boy."

"As you wish. We'll rest for a few minutes here before continuing. Do you have any useful supplies?"

"But of course. I have antiseptics, bandages and various poisons and venoms." He answered with a vicious smirk "Which one suits your fancy?"

As Hadvar argued with the disgusting mage Louise inspected the table she was sited next to, desperately trying to find something to distract her mind with.

There was a plate with some food in it. '_Who can eat in such a revolting place?'_ There were also a couple of gold coins and two books. The first one was entitled "Flames" and, fittingly, the drawing of what looked like a very stylish flame decorated the cover. The second one was "The book of the Dragonborn" and had the image of a dragon on its cover. Louise grabbed the last one opened the first page.

The letters were strange. She could read them with no problems, but each one was too 'square', each letter 'A' was exactly the same as any other 'A'. It was like it hadn't been handwritten. Maybe it had been written with magic? Doubtful.

In any case, it appeared to tell the story of the Cyrodilic Empire (apparently the name of the place where she was) and its various rulers and heroes. She didn't have the time to read it, but a book about local history would be useful. She put it inside her pack for latter.

"Louise, we are done here. Florentius will come with us."

"Who?"

"Me, young lady." A voice said next to Hadvar. That was the other legionnaire, a man with long black hair and a very prominent bald spot on top of his head. Louise had barely paid attention to him.

"I… thank you mister Florentius."

"It's my pleasure, young lady."

"Louise, how are you? Are you fine?"

"I'm tired, hurt all over and I think I'm going to vomit again. But I will keep going."

"I don't think we have a say in the matter."

Louise grabbed her shield and her sword, and tightened her fur cloak over her shoulders. It was time to go.

'_As steel'_

* * *

><p>Too soon for her taste they found their path blocked once again by Stormcloaks.<p>

"I see eight."

The area they were in was a natural cave, illuminated by several torches and oil burners. According to Hadvar that meant they were deep inside the mountain. And closer to their destination.

"Three are archers."

That would be a problem. Hadvar and Florentius were excellent swordsmen, but against archers they would be in danger. Now she wished they had insisted with that mage.

"Louise, don't you have any magic that can help?"

"Me? No. I don't have my wand. Be…Besides I'm not really that good with…"

"Can you do something with this?" Said Florentius, passing her a something. It was the book 'Flames' she had seen before.

"What's this?"

"A spell book. The old man uses it when he gets distracted with a prisoner and doesn't remember his spells."

'_Gets _distracted_? I don't want to know.'_

Louise opened the book. It had some basic magic theory and a short incantation. She channeled her willpower through it and felt it reacting. The Book was a foci she could utilize.

"And if this doesn't work?"

"We go for plan B."

"Do I dare to ask?"

"We improvise."

That wasn't what Louise wanted to hear.

"No pressure then."She grimaced.

Accepting that things depended on her, she slowly rose from behind their hiding spot, aimed for the archers and cast the spell.

"Flames!"

_Boooom_

The book exploded in her hands.

"Now!" Shouted Hadvar. He and Florentius charged the enemy position.

"Imperials! To arms!"

Louise remained behind, motionless. That should have been her moment. Her moment of triumph. She had ruined it again. At least it hadn't been all for nothing, even if the foci had been destroyed in the process she had managed to launch her characteristic explosion. That had stunned the rebels giving the legionnaires the opportunity to kill three before the rest could organize a defense.

Louise unsheathed her sword and…

_Sniff_

That smell…

_Sniff_

_Sniff_

Was oil. Her spell had destroyed a barrel with lamp fuel! A barrel that had been standing just next to the archers.

Louise didn't lose a moment. She grabbed one of the burners that kept the cave illuminated and hurled it with all her strength to where she believed was the oil spill.

The archers were getting their arrows ready when the floor lit in fire.

"Agggg!"

The screams, the heat, the smoke. For a moment Louise felt she was back on the surface, running from the dragon. She suppressed those thoughts as she readied her sword, running to the encounter of her enemies.

The first archer had fallen forwards, trying to put out the fire that was burning his legs. She cut his neck.

The second archer had turned around, trying to put out the fire that had reached his arms. She stabbed him where she believed was his heart.

The third archer had fallen over the oil spill and wasn't moving. She didn't have to do anything.

She contemplated the flames. How they crept across the floor. How they were slowly dying out.

"Louise! Louise!" Hadvar was shaking her arm.

"What?" She jumped, looking around.

"You weren't reacting. You spaced out."

"I'm fine. It's just that… the fire… reminded me of what is happening up there."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to do with what happened to me."

"It still worries me."

"Thanks." That was much more than anyone apart from her family had done for her before.

"Hey!" Florentius' voice startled them. "Is this what you are looking for?"

Next to him was a lever. After using it a wooden bridge lowered. That would allow them to keep going forward into the caves.

"Thanks Florentius, that's what we were searching for."

"My pleasure. I better stay back and see to the old man. Maybe I can convince him to get out of his workshop."

"Good luck mister Florentius." Louise saluted the man.

"And good luck to you two."

* * *

><p>Louise thanked the Founder they didn't stumble across more enemies. The only living being they found inside the caves was a bear they evaded with ease. Fortunately, because Louise didn't want to think about what could happen if her sister Cattleya found out she had wounded a poor defenseless bear.<p>

"This looks like the way out!"

"I will be honest with you; I was starting to wonder if there was one."

To feel the night breeze was liberation for Louise. No more fire, no more muggy caves. Only nature and open spaces were what filled her sight.

"From here we go to Riverwood. My uncle is a blacksmith there. He can help us."

"The first thing I'm going to ask for is a warm meal."

"Ha! That man is a good eater. That's guaranteed."

That was good to know. She had been running almost all day (mostly for her life). And on top of that, her lunch… she no longer had it.

Louise turned her head to contemplate the night sky and…

A storm…

Butterflies…

Delving pincers…

Four arms…

Spider…

Thousand eyes…

Corpse of…

"Louise?"

"What?"

"You spaced out again. I told you we have some cheese in the backpack, if you want some."

"Thanks."

Her head was killing her. She looked at the sky again, but there was nothing there. Nothing strange.

Only those strange moons that looked so sickly.

…

* * *

><p>AN: My dear God/Founder/ALMSIVI, 10k words already? I'll be honest, during the planning stage for this fic I assumed we'd be in Whiterun at this point.

I'm incredibly grateful by the reception my story is getting, thanks a lot! And to clarify a very common question, no, the title is not a misspell, it is in fact Zero Summing.

Translation:

Pahlok joorre! Hin kah fen kos bonaar! - Arrogant mortals! Your pride will be humbled.

See you in chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

_Applauses for my betas thefluffyone93, Fragment of ring and CryptIXeeper._

Under strange skies

Chapter three

The road ahead of me

* * *

><p><em>Nice day, khundakar, we have your table ready, the divinities are already waiting.<em>

_Nice day, suchi-el, the world-nirn cannot be mapped, so forward your dismissals to the eight givers._

_Afternoon, Ae, I hope all is well in the world of modern folklore._

_Afternoon, Aurbis, the reports are true, there is a type of zero still to be discovered, all critics agree._

_'A Type of Zero Still to Be Discovered' - a traditional Dwemeri children's rhyme -_

* * *

><p>"Now I know you are just pulling my leg!" He answered, falsely offended, "I can believe the flying ships. I can even believe the dragon riders! But, a lion with bat-wings? That's just silly."<p>

"Of course not!" She insisted, "My mother's familiar is a manticore. I wouldn't lie about that!"

Of that nature had been the conversation that Louise and Hadvar started little more than an hour ago.

After escaping the ruins of Helgen and a rushed snack consisting of the little bread and cheese that the legionnaire had managed to acquire inside the fortress, the two companions started to tell each one's respective life stories. Hadvar had started, telling Louise about the Empire, Skyrim, the Great War and the Civil War. She had done her part telling him about Tristain, Halkeginia and Reconquista, omitting the more uncomfortable details about her experiences at the Academy. It was when she started explaining Albion's peculiar geography that Hadvar's eyes opened wide, and what followed was a long explanation about everything Louise knew about the inner working of the flying ships. The conversation inevitably focused on their military applications.

"Easy, easy, I believe you. Enough madness happened already in one day for something like bat-lions and four legged dragons to surprise me." He said snickering.

Louise wasn't sure if she should have felt insulted or not. But she accepted that that was simply Hadvar's sense of humor. A very bad one, in her opinion.

"You are just trying to make me feel better." She grumbled, "If you are not going to believe me just say so to my face." Crossing her arms, Louise got past him, giving her back to her companion.

"Hey, Louise, calm down." Said Hadvar, this time with true concern, "I was just kidding."

He sped up to reach her. But before catching up, Louise turned around and Hadvar could see she had drawn a big smile on her face.

"Me too."

He didn't want his laughs to attract unwelcome attention, so he remained quiet.

"Come on. I'll feel better once we're under cover in Riverwood."

Together they continued with their path. Louise's legs were still killing her, but the more relaxed (or at least less frenetic) march they had adopted, did wonders to alleviate her sore muscles. She couldn't dismiss either the fact that, mid descent, the snow had given its place to solid ground and greener pastures. With the flowers and the little wildlife she could see in the distance, Louise thought that it would be a wonderful place for a short stroll on horseback.

After surpassing a small hill, and behind a last group of trees, the mountains opened into a huge valley crossed by a river with crystalline water. Louise came to a stop, mouth agape.

"Wow."

"Impressive view, isn't it?"

Just to the north she could see a small town with smoke coming out of the chimneys. It looked like a nice place, but what had really captured the young girl's attention had been the majestic mountains to the west, and the impressive constructions at the top of one of them.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing the ominous structures.

"The ruins up there? That's Bleak Falls Barrow."

"Really?" She asked incredulous, "That's how they are called? Who gave them that name?"

"No idea, someone that didn't want people to go up there I guess. When I was a boy, that place always used to give me nightmares. Draugr creeping down the mountain to climb through my window at night, that kind of thing. I admit, I still don't much like the look of it."

"What's a Draugr?"

"An undead." Louise shivered visibly, "But do not confuse them with zombies, I once made that mistake in front of an imperial battlemage and she spent a whole afternoon explaining to me the difference. I forgot everything the next morning." Hadvar didn't find it necessary to clarify he had woken up in that very mage's bed.

* * *

><p>The little town of Riverwood was certainly lovely, with an ample main street and comfortable wooden structures in the same style Louise had seen in Helgen. She could see that not everyone was asleep, as there was some movement inside some houses, but at the late hours of the night the pair had arrived, the streets were empty.<p>

Following Hadvar through several small passageways, Louise finally found herself in front of a big building of stone and wood. Next to it a forge had been installed.

"This is the house of my uncle Alvor." Hadvar explained. He stepped forward and knocked the door vigorously.

"Who is it?" Answered a harsh, female voice from the inside.

"Sigrid, it's me, Hadvar! Open up, please."

A few moments passed before the door opened and the woman Hadvar had called Sigrid came from inside it. She was in her mid or late forties and had brown hair. She gave her nephew a big hug.

"Hadvar what happ… by Mara! You are a mess! Are you all right?"

"It's a long story, aunt. My friend and I," He said pointing at Louise, "almost didn't make it out of Helgen alive. Is Alvor here?"

"At the tavern, but what happened? We heard there was an attack on Helgen. Were the Stormcloaks behind it?" She asked in whispers, visibly worried.

"It's more complicated than that. I ask you to get some food ready while I go for Alvor, I'd like to tell this story only once. Can you look after Louise until we get back?"

* * *

><p>In hindsight, accepting to take care of the girl hadn't been the best of her ideas, but Sigrid had always felt a lot of affection for Ana's son and couldn't say no.<p>

That's why she now found herself in the current mess.

"It's a giant lion with bat-wings."

"That's so awesome!"

The spoiled girl not only had utterly refused to help in the kitchen; that it wasn't 'proper of her' she had said, but also had driven her mad with stories about some foreign kingdom Sigrid had never heard about (and she considered herself more knowledgeable than the average Nord). The worst part was when Dorthe, woken up by the noise, decided to climb the stairs to see what was happening. It was already difficult to try teaching gardening to a daughter that had the dream of becoming Skyrim's greatest blacksmith. It should had been obvious that hanging out with a girl armed and armored like a legionnaire would only serve to fill her head with more crazy ideas.

"Dorthe, dear, why don't you help me setting the table?" The mother asked in the most diplomatic tone possible.

"But mother, Louise is about to tell me about the flying island!" The younger girl pouted.

"It's true, we are talking, but I must say that your daughter is a fantastic hostess. It's nice to meet such an educated country-girl." Said the girl that seemed to believe she was the High Queen herself.

"See mother? I can't help you if I have to take care of the guests."

"Fine! You go and play with your friend. Your father and I are going to have a talk later."

It was at that moment that the door burst open and the happy voice of the mentioned father, a big man with an equally big belly, greeted the occupants. Hadvar entered behind him.

"Sigrid! Love of my life! How are you?"

"Don't you sweet talk me, Alvor. Can you help me with our daughter?"

What followed was a long, long argument between the two parents, each one blaming the other for spoiling their daughter. At first Louise got worried, but Dorthe reassured her saying that was a daily routine at her house.

* * *

><p>With dinner served and the discussion left for later, the family sat at the table. The meal was a strange mixture of meat, cabbage, potatoes and several other vegetables. Normally Louise would have complained about such a simple dish, but as soon as she sensed that delicious aroma, her belly took over and, spoon at hand, she got down to the job of devouring her portion.<p>

Alvor, seated at the head of the table, decided it was time to get some answers from his nephew.

"Now, then, boy. What's the big mystery? The last time we heard from you, you had been assigned to General Tullius' guard. Now you appear at our doorstep with a princess or something like that…"

"I'm not the princess!"

"A Count's daughter or whatever! It's all the same thing!" Louise got red with fury, but decided that eating was more important than arguing with that uneducated commoner, "And you look like you lost an argument with a cave bear. What happened in Helgen?" Alvor finally asked.

The legionnaire swallowed the spoonful of food he had gotten to his mouth and set the spoon aside.

"Well, I don't know where to start." He took a sip of water from his cup to clear his throat "With Louise we met this morning, she can tell you her story better than me." The girl nodded with her head while finishing her own food, "We were about to execute Ulfric when we were attacked... by a dragon."

For several seconds the table went silent.

"A dragon? That's... ridiculous. You aren't drunk, are you boy?"

"He is telling the truth!" Exclaimed a furious Louise, "That thing was real!"

"Husband." Sigrid interjected "Let him tell his story."

"I'm sorry." Said Alvor embarrassed "Please, nephew, continue."

"Not much more to tell. This dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole place. Mass confusion. I don't know if anyone else got out alive. We two almost got killed several times."

"Maybe the Gods smiled to us and that thing ate Ulfric."

"I doubt we are that lucky, uncle. It attacked just when we were about to execute him. I believe it was rescuing him." Said Hadvar, somber at the prospect.

"Do you believe the Stormcloaks somehow found one to help them?"

"No." The voice of Louise startled them. She remained thoughtful, but finally decided to speak "Hadvar, I didn't tell you this, but I saw Ulfric after the attack."

"What? Where?"

"Inside one of the towers. I… ran for cover and found him there. The dragon blew up part of the tower and killed one of his rebels. It almost killed him too."

"Are you sure?" Asked a concerned Alvor, "Maybe it was a trick."

"I know exactly what I saw! He was as surprised of the attack as everyone!"

The men remained quiet for a while.

"If that's true and the dragon is someone else's servant, thing will just get more complicated."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I need to get back to Solitude and let them know what's happened. Louise needs to find a mage to get in touch with her home."

"A mage?"

"Yes… I…" Explained Louise trying to find the right words, "had an accident with a spell and ended up here."

"You mages always make a mess of everything." Said an irritated Sigrid "Anyway, there isn't a single mage in all Riverwood."

"Doesn't old Hilde know a thing or two about magic?"

"Would you trust that woman?"

"… Good point." Hadvar took another sip of water before continuing "In any case, we are tired. I believe we should make our plans tomorrow after a good night's sleep."

Louise couldn't agree more.

* * *

><p>After finishing dinner, it was quickly decided that Louise would share Dorthe's room at the basement. Her room was warm and welcoming, and filled with a collection of various dolls and wooden weapons (what a strange combination) and a small bed Louise rapidly sat on to.<p>

At first, the noble had been pleased with the idea. The girl had been very polite, showing the right behavior while at the presence of a noble.

Now Louise just wanted her to close her mouth.

"Papa says I'm not ready for weapons, that's why he keeps me making lots of horseshoes and hobnails. But one day I will make my own sword! Or maybe an axe. And then, once I start earning my own money maybe mama will stop bothering me with all those girlish things she insists in teaching me. Or I could make my own armor and go out in adventures! I could go and kill dragons. Did you really see a dragon? What did it look like? Did it have big teeth?"

'_Founder's mercy, how can she keep talking without breathing?'_

"And Louise? Louise? Louise? Louise?"

"What?!" Exclaimed, feeling what was surely the beginning of a headache.

"When did you join the Legion?"

"I did what?"

"Join the Legion. That's a legionnaire's armor; everybody knows that if you use that armor is because you are with the empire." Said the girl, in a matter of fact tone.

"I didn't do anything of that sort. Hadvar gave me this armor to protect myself."

"Oh." The girl sighed, disappointed, "I was thinking I could join too. If they let you in at fourteen they would surely let me in too."

"I'm sixteen!"

"Doesn't look like it."

"Mph." She grumbled "Besides…" Louise remained thoughtful for a moment. Remembering the horrible day she just had and how she ended in that place.

"Ah?" Dorthe hurried her.

"Besides, I wouldn't join them. My loyalty is to my kingdom. To Queen Marianne and Princess Henrietta. I wouldn't sell my loyalty for anything."

"Do you miss them? Your family and friends?"

"Of course not!" She said prideful, giving Dorthe a confident smile "As the noble I am, I won't let such a small hindrance like this stop me. It's just an obstacle that I will surpass like any other."

"You're very brave Louise."

"Of course I *_yawn_* am!"

"Are you tired?"

"Very. It was a very long day. I just want to rest now."

"No problem! I'll bring more bed sheets."

Dorthe ran to one of her room's corners where she had a big leather trunk. She opened it and from its inside she pulled out several sheets and bedspreads.

"Done! I will make your bed and…"

"Zzzzzzzzz…zzzzz…zzz"

At some point, while Dorthe was searching through her trunk, Louise had undressed and had got very comfortable inside her host's bed. Now she was snorting peacefully.

"Aww."

Without letting that discourage her, Dorthe prepared a second bed next to the one Louise had taken over.

* * *

><p><em>With a round of applauses, the assembled students celebrated the summoning of Guiche de Gramont's familiar. A giant mole that was quickly named Verdandi.<em>

'How appropriate'_ Thought Louise, comparing the grotesque creature with its master. How was it possible for Montmorency to remain with that idiot? Everyone at the academy knew he chased after every girl that piqued his interest. With his attitude and way of dressing, Louise sometimes wondered if he only fancied women._

"_Well done everyone! Now, is there anyone else who hasn't performed the ritual yet?" Asked Jean Colbert, one of the best professors the Academy had and a square class fire mage._

"_Louise hasn't Mister Colbert." That… that voice. That Founder forsaken voice that more than once Louise had dreamed with strangling. It belonged to Kirche von Zerbst, a foreign student from Germania. Their two families had been enemies for generations, so it was natural for the two girls to be deadly rivals. Louise hated the fact that the Germanian was one of the best students of their year, a fact Kirche never failed to remind her._

"_Ah, yes, please come over here Miss Valliére."_

_With nervous steps Louise separated herself from the multitude of students, walking towards the center of the outskirt where she was supposed to summon her familiar. But Kirche, of course, hadn't finished with her._

"_I would tell you to not get nervous Valliére, but what's the point? We all know how this is going to end, don't we, Zero?"_

_Some students started laughing and others started whispering among themselves. Louise wasn't going to let that harlot treat her like that! With confidence, she turned to face her._

"_You will see! You will all see! I'm going to summon the greatest familiar ever. My familiar is going to be the king of all dragons. You will see!"_

_But the answer to her bold statement was a generalized guffaw._

'Idiots, they are all idiots'

_It didn't matter that she knew by memory most of the books they had studied, and several others she had taken from the library. It didn't matter that she knew more about theory, history or geography than any of them. Only the Gallian girl could compete with her! The only thing that mattered was that in her sixteen years of life, Louise de la Valliére had never been able to cast a single successful spell._

_In all history, there had never been the case of a noble failing her summoning. Would she be the first one? Was she really ready for this?_

'No, no and no! I will prove them what I'm capable of.'

_The Germanian had summoned a magnificent salamander and the Gallian an impressive wind dragon. Louise wasn't going to be less than them._

_She got in position, raised her wand and pronounced her enchantment._

"_Hear my pledge Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers! I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Valliére, following my fate, command you to appear before me my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant!"_

_**Booooom!**_

_A tremendous explosion, the biggest she had ever caused, throwing her backwards and forcing her to drop her wand._

_There was so much light._

_What had happened?_

_She wanted to see._

_But smoke saturated the air._

_Her eyes burned, her sight blurred with tears._

'What…?'

_Then fire, and screams._

"_What is happening?"_

_The smoke cleared, and she found herself surrounded by corpses. Colbert, Kirche, Montmorency and many others whom she never cared enough to learn their names._

"_No, no!"_

_And then she saw it. She saw her familiar. A huge and repugnant dragon, black as night. That thing had killed them. Her mistake had killed them._

_The dragon moved towards her, crawling over her wings because it didn't have forearms._

_Louise tried to run, but something stopped her. The bloody corpse of Kirche grabbed her between its arms and with a crooked grin of pain and mockery it asked, "Isn't this what you wanted?"_

"_Yol… Toor… Shul!"_

* * *

><p>Louise woke up with a start. Her breath was agitated and her back was drenched with sweat.<p>

Only a small oil burner at the corner of the room illuminated the darkness that surrounded her. At first she didn't recognize the room she was in. The walls were of crude wood and the bed was incredibly uncomfortable. Then she remembered.

"Founder."

A tiny part of her had been keeping the vain hope that everything had been just a dream. She had been hoping to simply be in bed, sick, and all this just a hallucination provoked by her feverish mind. But the pain of her tired muscles, the wounds on her hands and the smell of smoke that still followed her, were all too real.

She looked to her side and relaxed when she saw that the child Dorthe was sleeping peacefully. Her nightmare hadn't wakened her up.

After much effort Louise managed to get back to sleep; with tears rolling down her face.

* * *

><p>The sound of steps around the house was what finally woke her up. She spent a long time looking at the ceiling, remembering the promise she had made to herself the day before about not getting out of bed.<p>

"Louise! Are you up yet?" Called a voice from the stairs.

Louise recognized her immediately. That was Dorthe, daughter of the blacksmith Alvor.

'_She couldn't have waited five more minutes?'_

Hearing how her steps were getting closer Louise quickly rose up and cleared the exhaustion from her face.

"Louise, how are you?" Asked the hyperactive child, now standing right next to the bed.

"Good morning Dorthe. I find myself fine. But I'm still a bit tired and I will remain in bed a few more minutes."

"Oh, ok. Mother just wanted me to tell you that the bath is ready, but if you wish to…"

Before finishing her explanation, Louise was already on her feet, clothed and going up the stairs. Dorthe had never seen someone moving that fast before.

* * *

><p>The 'bath' (if one could really call it like that) that Sigrid had prepared for her, was sadly much simpler than what she had been accustomed to. Here there weren't big stone bathtubs decorated with fine tiles. What she got instead was a small wooden tub, placed inside one of the ground floor's rooms, and the water looked like it had been used by several people before her. That was probably the case, she thought, disgusted. These commoners didn't have the means to heat big amounts of fresh water, so they surely just kept reheating the same water until it was useless.<p>

'_Why didn't that Sigrid woman wake me earlier?'_

Completely relaxed with the steam, she barely noticed when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Louise asked sleepy.

"It's Sigrid; I'm taking your clothes to wash them. I'm leaving a dress here for you to use in the meantime." Said the woman of the house from the other side of the door.

"Thank you!"

It was nice to be well attended to for once. No need to worry about the servant talking about 'the zero this' or 'the zero that'. Not that they ever talked loud enough for Louise to hear them, but she knew they did!

She remained there until the water got cold.

* * *

><p>Now wearing a dress of, surprisingly, good taste, Louise sat at the table with Alvor and Hadvar.<p>

"Well!" Said the blacksmith "Now that we're all here, we can begin."

"Aren't we going to wait for the rest?" Asked Louise.

"My dear wife is washing the clothes and Dorthe is playing with the neighbors. Besides, this mostly concerns only the two of you."

"So, what are our plans?"

"My plans," Started the legionnaire, "are to remain in Riverwood for some more days. A Khajiit caravan is in town and they told me that in two days they are parting towards Solitude. I'm going with them."

"Sound fine, but what about the mage that was supposed to help me?"

"Alvor spoke earlier with Hod, the town's lumberjack; this afternoon he is sending a load of logs to Whiterun and we organized to send you with him."

"And what am I going to do there?" The noble asked with some doubt.

"I have some friends in Whiterun." Alvor answered, "If you introduce yourself to the castle guards saying that you witnessed Helgen's destruction they will surely take you to the Jarl. Even more if you tell them that a dragon did it. Then it's just a matter of finding the court's mage Farengar. He is… an eccentric man, but he is always interested in studying the stranger cases of magic and I'm sure your case will pique his interest."

"I don't really like how that sounds." She admitted, embarrassed, "And why can't I go with the merchants too? Isn't there any mage that can help me in Solitude?"

"Well, yes, but the road is long and treacherous. Besides the Khajiit only accepted to take me because I can be useful as a guard if something goes wrong."

"Oh, please, I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

"Yes, but Louise…"

"Where are they?"

"They set camp near the river up north, just past the town's entrance." Answered the blacksmith.

"Then it's settled!" Affirmed Louise, rising from her chair "I will go talk with them and convince them to take me too." _That way I won't need to part ways with Hadvar so soon._

With great speed Louise rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"And what are you laughing about nephew?"

* * *

><p>"Greetings, young customer! How can Ri'saad help you?"<p>

"…"

"If I cannot serve you, I am sure that one of my other traders can do so."

"…"

"Was there anything you needed or is our business complete?"

* * *

><p>Not even ten minutes later the door burst open again, and through it come a very disturbed Louise.<p>

"Giant. Cat."

"Ah, yes, that." Hadvar received her with a smug on his face.

"Giant. Cat."

"And I understand they can talk too."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She finally burst.

"I wanted to, but you didn't give me the time." He tried to explained, amused by Louise's state.

"What's her problem with the Khajiit?" Asked Alvor, raising a bushy eyebrow.

"For what we talk about her land, they don't have Khajiits nor Argonians there."

"What a strange place."

"You are the strange ones!" Shouted the infuriated girl, "Living alongside elves and giant cats..."

"That can talk."

If looks could kill, Hadvar would be six feet under by now.

"So." Alvor interjected, "Did you reconsider Hod's offer?"

"Yes." She answered, "I decided that I will go with the lumberjack to Whiterun."

"That's great. You better get prepared then, this afternoon you are parting."

"Yes." She said, not very excited.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye.<p>

The dress that Sigrid had lent her ended up being very comfortable for such a cheap material. From the conversations she heard, the woman had bought it for Dorthe, but the girl had completely refused to wear it. It looked like it was already difficult for her mother to convince her to dress like a girl every day.

After an abundant meal of meat and vegetables (again), Louise had tried to get a quick nap, but Dorthe had other plans and spent the afternoon asking her all sorts of questions about Halkeginia. At first Louise had found that annoying, but after a while she had to admit she really liked talking about her home country and her life with the nobility.

She might have embellished some details. But just a little.

* * *

><p>"Louise!" Called Sigrid, coming down the stairs "I bring you your clothes. Get ready; it's time for you to leave."<p>

"Ohhh, is it time already?" Asked a sad Dorthe, "I will miss you."

"I'm afraid it is, I must go and see that mage so he can help me with returning home."

"Wait, I know what to do!" Exclaimed the girl as she exited and dashed to one of the corners, where she had a pile of books and dolls.

Taking the moment, Louise unrobed and started to dress in her own clothes. Sigrid not only had washed them, but she also had sewed the holes and even had put leather patches onto the elbows of the shirt. It wasn't as good as new, but Louise was tremendously grateful for the gesture anyway. Her uniform was the only thing she had from Tristain. It was nice to know she would be using it for a while longer.

It was when she was about to fix her helmet that Louise noticed she had also donned the leather armor.

_'I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.'_

"I found it!" Shouted Dorthe.

"What did you f...?" Before finishing her question the girl had put a thick book on her hands. Louise opened it and noticed it was completely blank.

"It's a journal. When Frodnar told me that all adventurers had one I asked dad for one. But I never used it, so I'm giving it to you."

"I... eh... thanks." Said Louise, trying to sound as convincing as possible, while putting the book inside her pack.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you don't need anything else?"<p>

"I'm fine Hadvar! I don't need more." Louise reassured him. Her pack had gotten very heavy with all the food Alvor had insisted her to carry. "Aren't you coming to see me off?"

"I better not. I don't have the best relationship with Gerdur and her family."

"Oh. Then I guess this is the goodbye, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is. You will take care, won't you?"

"Of course! You have nothing to worry about!"

The two friends, who had met under some very peculiar circumstances, gave each other a strong hug before parting ways.

"Bye Louise!"

"Farewell Miss Valliére, hope you find your way home."

Dorthe and Sigrid were also very polite.

_'What a nice family.'_ Louise thought while following Alvor to the town's exit, where a huge cart pulled by four big oxen was waiting for her. The cart was loaded with logs, each one at least five meters long.

"Ah! Good afternoon!" Called a voice from the top of the pile, "So that's the famous Louise I hear so much about?"

"Good afternoon Hod!" Shouted Alvor happily.

"Good afternoon mister Hod." Louise greeted him while the lumberjack was jumping back to the ground "Can I ask you how you know who I am?"

"There aren't many girls with pink hair around these lands." He said, "Besides, Dorthe has been telling my son Frodnar some stories about you."

"Hehe, yes." She smiled a bit embarrassed, thinking about what parts of her stories that girl had told.

"Well, I leave her under your care, Hod." Louise and Alvor bade farewell. Maybe she was more affectionate than a proper noble should be towards a commoner, but she didn't care.

Louise climbed up the cart and sit to the man's right, fixing her bag between them.

"Ready to meet the capital of Whiterun Hold?"

"The most I could ever be!"

"Let's get going then!" Hod grabbed the reins firmly and the oxen started moving.

While thinking about what to do during the trip, Louise remembered she had something in her pack. After a quick search, she pulled out 'The Book of the Dragonborn', opened the first page and started reading.

…

* * *

><p>AN: I want to thank all my reviewers, favs and followers, and big thanks to my family that make all this possible with their continuous support.

Now, to answer some guest reviews:

Grammar Fairy (I should have done this last chapter, but I forgot): Yes, the title is a reference to an obscure concept of TES' lore.

Nyamu: For now thing will remain canon, only compensating for some gameplay mechanics. But don't worry, the train wreck will happen. Of course she will get a 'Void' book! There is a very handy book that contains all necessary knowledge, and she can acquire it for the low, low price of some sanity points.

Guest: I'm trying to make this a more lore-friendly(ish) TES fic, there won't be CHIM for anyone anytime soon.

That's all for now folks!


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks thefluffyone93, Fragment of ring and CryptIXeeper for their job as my betas._

Under strange skies

Chapter four

Louise alone

* * *

><p><em>It was Fornower who got the truth of it, handing Cyrus half a bit of licorice. "For your mighty deeds, now plus one: some bitten-on licorice of the Bay" he said. "But, c'mon, Cap, and tell just me, then. How'd you beat him?"<em>

_"Yeah, well," Cyrus said. He chewed and swallowed. "I cheated."_

_-Lord Vivec's Sword-Meeting with Cyrus the Restless-_

* * *

><p><em>"How do you find yourself today, mother?" Éleonore de la Valliere asked to Duchess Karin de la Valliére, seated at the head of the table next to their father, the Duke. One of the servants came to her place and filled the glass of wine that was almost empty.<em>

_"I find myself quite well, Éleonore, I appreciate your concern." Replied Karin. Although the air between them was tense, as always, one couldn't ignore the affection that they felt, the one for the other. "Tell me Louise, I understand that you have greatly improved your standings at the Academy."_

_The youngest of the Duchess' three daughters put down the cup of wine she was holding to reply to her mother._

_"You are correct, mother, the invocation of my familiar was successful and the professors congratulated me on the progresses that I'm making." Louise said, very proud of herself._

_"Very well Louise!" Her sister Cattleya congratulated her, showing a radiant smile. Of the three sisters, Louise was sure the one with the greatest strength was Cattleya. Despite her illness, she was always in good spirits._

_Another servant approached Louise's place and served her a tasty pork loin, seasoned with fine herbs. Taking fork and knife in each hand, the young girl began to cut off a bite. With each pass of her knife, the meat opened, releasing its delicious aroma. Her mouth was watering, thinking about the exquisite dish that had been prepared for her._

_She carefully inspected the portion with her fork. The meat was impeccably cooked. She took the food to her mouth. The taste was indescribable, it filled her mouth._

_Her family was smiling._

_The food was good._

_Everything was perfect._

* * *

><p>The timber cart bounced when it crossed over a bump in the road. The violent movement woke Louise up and almost threw her off the cart.<p>

Some hours after leaving Riverwood, and with her book finished, Louise had found a spot to get comfortable up on the pile of logs that Hod was carrying. Using her backpack as a pillow and her fur coat for a blanket, she had managed to shut her eyes.

It was then that the nightmares started.

The first ones had been like the one she had at Alvor's place: the dragon, fire and death. She had managed to remain quiet every time she had woken up. Louise wasn't going to allow the woodcutter see her in her moment of weakness.

But, the last one. The last one had been the worst of them all.

"Stop the cart!" Louise cried from top of the pile of wood with her voice trembling.

"W-what's the matter?" Asked a startled Hod.

"Stop it at once!" The girl cried again, with more energy this time.

The woodcutter pulled the reins, trying to control the oxen that had gotten nervous with all the shouting.

"What's happening to you? Do you have to go pee?"

"You, shut up." Without waiting for her transport to stop moving, Louise grabbed her pack, put her coat over her shoulders and jumped down. She landed without problems, despite the two meters of height that separated her from the ground. She recovered quickly and ran towards a dense group of trees, which she saw could hide her figure.

Tumbling, the distressed girl collapsed behind some bushes, plunged her face between her arms and broke down in tears.

_'This… this is not fair.'_

She wanted to shout, wanted to roar and insult the very heavens for what had happened to her. But she couldn't. It was unpleasant, but she preferred a thousand times that the woodcutter believed that she was doing… that_, _among the trees before letting him see her in such deplorable state.

Louise tried to get up, but her legs didn't respond and she fell to the ground again. She embedded her fingers into the moist soil and, while closing her hands, felt how stones and roots scratched her skin. Her sister could kill her for that; her hands would surely get covered with more scrapes and calluses. But she didn't care, she needed that. She needed to release her anger, and she wanted that feeling, wanted to know that she still had energy in her body.

She lifted her right hand, and closed it into a fist. The girl struck with all her might the land on which she stood. She hit again and again, until her hand went numb.

Calmer now, Louise managed to get on her feet.

_'That… that… felt very good.'_

She looked around. There were so many trees! If she had her wand with her she would have blown up half of them.

_'The noise would probably have been difficult to hide.' _She thought, feeling a weak smile forming on her face.

Her left leg collided with something. Louise leaned over and saw that it was her backpack.

'_Thank Founder that I brought it with me.'_

She opened it and from its inside she pulled out a waterskin that Hadvar had handed over before leaving Riverwood. She uncorked it and threw the liquid over her face to wipe the tears and dust away.

She put the empty waterskin back inside her pack and shook off the dirt that covered her clothes and armor. Louise didn't have a mirror, but she knew her clothes and face well enough to be sure that she had made a good job.

With that done, she slowly walked back to where Hod was waiting for her.

"There you are! Next time remember to go before parting."

"Shut up!" Louise replied sharply while climbing back to her sit, "I don't need your opinion."

"Ah, is it that time of the month?"

"W-what?! Focus on driving, pervert."

"Ha! You sound like my wife."

'_Idiot.'_

Louise curled between her coat, trying to get comfortable.

"What time is it?"

"Mmm, I would say around three in the morning." He said, looking at the sky. Louise didn't know how he could be so sure. "We still have another hour or so before reaching Whiterun."

It was still very early in the morning; the only times that she had stayed awake until those hours had been when she was playing with Princess Henrietta. Her eyelids were heavy, but she didn't dare to close her eyes, fearing that the dreams would storm in again.

* * *

><p>The road to Whiterun was proving to be one of the longest of her life. The landscape was a perpetual monotony of trees and mountains and Hod didn't seem interested in making conversation, only conforming with whistling a song that was unknown to Louise. It was extremely boring.<p>

'_He must be accustomed to make this journey alone.'_ She thought, feeling a bit sad for him.

But as each minute passed she began to recognize the obvious signs of civilization. The path they travelled, at the beginning only flattened dirt, had become a cobbled path, poorly maintained, but if a city had the luxury of having stone-paved roads, it was because it was important.

The trees, which had initially formed a single green wall, had become more sporadic, being replaced with stumps that betrayed the work of lumberjacks.

_'Why do they need wood from Riverwood? Why are their own lumberjacks overstretched?'_

The sound of water hitting violently against rocks startled her. Only now she realized that they had been following the course of the river since they departed from Riverwood. But that sound…

_'A waterfall?'_

It seemed that the mountains finally came to an end.

From what little she had been told, Whiterun dominated the central part of all Skyrim, the largest fertile prairie in the entire province. It made sense then for it to be one of the most important urban centers. Being at the center (especially in a mountainous region) meant that anyone wanting to go somewhere would have to pass through there, and broad grasslands meant abundant harvests.

As the noise of the waterfall got louder, the road descended. They finally arrived at the edge of a ledge and Louise was able to see their destination: a huge city, surrounded by impressive stone walls.

"Beautiful city, don't you agree?" asked Hod.

"I've seen them larger." Louise said, still annoyed. It was nothing like the great capital of Tristan, but she had to admit it was a decent second.

"What a way to discourage a man!"

Louise didn't understand why the woodcutter had suddenly begun giggling, until she carefully analyzed every word that they had exchanged.

"Ugh, was that… was that some kind of indecent joke?"

"Noooo, of course it was not." What a pedantic man.

Louise crossed her arms and made her best effort to ignore Hod's laughter. Soon she would be meeting the local nobility and it was best to do so in a good mood.

The carriage and its occupants continued their journey; Hod didn't even need to direct the oxen, evidence of how many times they had followed that exact route. They passed near what appeared to be a farm, owned by some 'Battle-Born' fellows, Hod had explained, and some stables. Louise could see that the owners of the stables were already up and working; she saw them coming and going, carrying alfalfa to feed the horses. One had to admire their dedication.

The cart turned right and faced toward the city walls. Whiterun had been built on top of a small hill, and a long trail going uphill was the only way to reach the gates.

As they got closer, Louise managed to see what the logs Hod was bringing would surely be used for.

The imposing stone walls had been reinforced with multiple towers and lookout posts made entirely of wood, from where archers observed with wary eyes anyone that dared to approach. Along the sides of the road there were several sharpened trunks, with guards on the ready to convert them into barricades in the event of an enemy attack. It was a grim reminder of the war that was spreading across Skyrim.

"Halt!" Shouted a severe voice that pulled Louise out of her depressing thoughts, "The city is closed. Official business only."

Hod stopped his cart as three heavily armed men approached. All had similar equipment, wore yellow robes and displayed the drawing of a horse's head on their shields. They were the city watch.

Louise looked up and saw two archers on one of the towers following every single one of her movements, ready to riddle Hod and her with arrows if they suspected foul play. Instinctively, she moved her hand to the side, until she felt with her wrist the handle of her sword.

"I am Hod of Riverwood!" The woodcutter announced, "I come bringing the load of wood that was asked from me."

"Do you have the order?" asked the leader of the sentries, approaching carefully.

"Here." From between his clothes, Hod pulled out a piece of paper and handed it over to the man, "I also bring arrows for the hunters and shields for the blacksmiths."

The man received the paper, inspected it carefully, and made a signal to his two companions, who quickly began to check the cargo. After a few tense minutes, one of the guards on the car made a signal to his leader; it was his raised fist with the thumb pointing upwards. Louise let go of the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Everything is in order." The leader said, giving back the paper to Hod, "Welcome to Whiterun."

The immense doors opened and, with a crack of the reins, Hod put the oxen back on track.

"Well, the castle of Dragonsreach is there." He told Louise after crossing the threshold, pointing to the tallest building in the whole city, "It is easy to reach. Do you know with whom do you have to speak about your issue?"

Louise blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of the question that Hod had just asked her.

"I…don't. Should I know that?" Her heart started throbbing at full speed. Alvor had just told her 'I have friends' and that was going to be enough to get a hearing with the Jarl. But who were his friends?

"Sure that you're going to be good?" Hod asked, worried.

"Of course I am!" Louise said, getting down to the street, "I'm going to be fine." She was trying to show a confident smile, but she felt it shaking on one of its sides.

"Well. Good luck then!"

They bid farewell, and after seeing the woodsman's carriage get lost behind some buildings, Louise started walking.

* * *

><p>"No? What do you mean with no?" Louise asked infuriated. For some reason, this situation felt eerily familiar.<p>

"Without invitation you cannot pass." The guard watching over Dragonsreach's doors reiterated for the third time. He was bored and tired.

"But I have information about Helgen!"

"Yes, yes, of course you do. Since yesterday eight people already came saying the exact same thing before you, and three saying that they were the new Dragonborn! What are you going to ask for this time? Gold?"

"No! I…"

"Besides, don't you know what time it is? It's five in the morning! Not even the Jarl is awake at this hour! So clear the entrance before I put you in the nearest dungeon I can find."

"Don't the lot of you know how to say anything else?!" Louise shouted.

The murderous gaze she received convinced her that a tactical withdrawal was her best option at the moment. She turned around and began the slow descent back to the city.

Having tried to go directly towards the castle had proved to be a total failure, as much as she had insisted on Alvor's name, nobody seemed to know the blacksmith. Who could be his supposed friends?

The worst thing of all, was that now she had no idea of where to go or what to do. She really didn't want to wait for the break of dawn in the middle of a deserted city, and she didn't know where she might find Hod. It was while she was thinking about this and other things that she realized that she had been surrounded by unfamiliar buildings.

_'Where am I?'_

Finding the castle had been very easy, it was Whiterun's tallest structure after all, but it seemed that the exit was evading her; she had turned left where she shouldn't and now was lost.

"Great, just great." She pouted.

But not everything appeared to be lost, because to her left she saw what might have been the only illuminated building throughout the entire city. It was a huge wooden construction, with music coming from the inside. On its exterior, Louise saw a sign with the name 'Bannered Mare' carved on. It was some sort of tavern, and she could hear the sound of people singing and laughing. It seemed that they were having a good time.

_'And what do I have to lose?' _Louise thought, deciding that the inn would be the best place to spend her time.

Perking up, she took a step towards the entry. The second step turned up to be much more difficult.

_'They-They are just peasants. I have nothing to fear from them. Surely they will be as friendly as Hadvar and Alvor were. Won't they?_' She wasn't very good at meeting new people, _'I-I am thirsty.'_

Yes, yes. First she would take a little sip of water and then she would enter. It wasn't that she was trying to make time, of course not! Louise put her backpack on the floor, opened it and remembered a bit late that she had used all the water she was carrying to clean herself earlier that day.

_'Oh, come on! Will nothing go right today?'_

Now her throat was truly dry. She hadn't drunk anything in all the way from Riverwood, and now she was feeling it.

With some trepidation she went up the final steps to the entry, put her hand on the door handle and pushed slowly. As soon as the door opened her body was assaulted by a mixture of different smells: a strange concoction of alcohol, perfume, blood and _*ugh*_ what was possibly urine.

And so many sounds! In a corner someone sang, in another someone was telling an obscene story. At the center a man and a woman were twisted in a fierce fistfight, and around them a circle of spectators had formed, shouting and cheering for their favorite fighter. Louise could see the unmistakable shine of gold passing from hand to hand.

'_So much noise! Is this how commoners spend their nights? Barbarism.'_

Louise tried to advance, dodging drunkards that had fainted over the floor, some on top of their own vomits. Everything was so dirty; many of the clients had their clothes stained with grease and drinks. Wherever she looked, she saw broken dishes and food leftovers. It was a filthy place.

Sidestepping a pair of men who could barely walk in a straight line, Louise approached what appeared to be the counter. On her way she came close to a table occupied by four people, two men and two women. She would have ignored them if it wasn't for the fact that the men had pointy ears.

_'They seem so happy.' _The elves were just sitting there, enjoying the drinks alongside humans. People just passed by, as if they were the most common sight in the world. Even more, the two girls seemed to be their dates for the... _'Oh God! What is he doing with his ton-No! I'm not seeing that." _Louise averted her eyes, with a deep blush on her face. _'How can they do that in public? And with elves?'_

With her face still red of embarrassment, Louise sat on one of the few chairs that were still free. A woman dressed as a waitress approached her.

"New in town?" The woman asked. Louise just nodded with her head, "What's it going to be? Bed, food or drink?"

Louise thought for a moment. People actually went to sleep in that place? She shook her head and recalled what was that had brought her there. But, what to drink? She would like a fine wine, but was wary of the local quality. Better to go for something safer.

"Bring me a cup of milk."

...

Why had everyone gone quiet all of a sudden?

"Who is the pussy that asked for milk?!"

Louise turned her head, very slowly, and saw that everyone was looking at her.

"Eh?" _Oh, God, now… what the heck is that?!_

An immense figure approached her. What was that thing? He was a man; there was no doubt of that, because he was walking shirtless, showing off his huge muscles. The man reminded Louise of a strange mix between a human and an orc. And he was green. To be completely honest with herself, that no longer surprised her.

"Are you the stupid milkdrinker?" With the huge man now standing at her side, Louise could feel the stench of alcohol that emanated from his body, "Who do you think you are?"

"W-what?" Louise babbled.

"Nords!" The beast shouted, turning around to address the onlookers, "This milkdrinker has offended us all! Offended all of us that come to this fine establishment by asking for a children's drink! I, Ognar, ask you this: what is the right thing to do now?"

A sound slowly spread throughout the bar. Those ones seated began to strike their palms against the tables while those who were standing tapped their feet against the ground.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Louise could feel the hair standing up on the back of her neck with each wave.

Ognar faced Louise again and with his gigantic hand, he lifted her from the neck of her shirt with absolute ease. Louise had never felt so small in her entire life.

"You listened to the public, girl; it would be very rude on my part not to give them what they want." Ognar said to her ear, showing a cruel smile.

Louise, unfortunately, couldn't answer; she was dizzy with the awful smell coming out from the man's mouth.

"Oh, Founder," She whined, "your breath stinks."

"What?!" Ognar exclaimed infuriated, his question barely audible over the laughter coming from the audience, "You want me to get mad…"

"Ognar!" Shouted a woman wearing a formidable steel armor. Louise recognized her as the same woman she saw fighting earlier, "Enough, let her go."

"This is not of your business, Uthgerd!"

"Of course it is! I'm not interested in seeing a distasteful display." The woman said calmly, "She's just a child."

"I am sixteen!" Louise's lips starting moving faster than her brain could process what she was saying, "Moron!" Much faster.

Louise's face lost all color when she saw the harsh expression on Uthgerd's face.

"Well, in that case…"

"Wait! Wait!"

"Ognar, all yours."

The Orsimer smiled and with his arm he pulled the young girl's small body until their eyes were only centimeters away from each other.

"I hope you know how to fight, girl, I don't like giving boring shows."

Louise thought at full speed; how could she break free from the giant's grip? She had her sword with her, and he wasn't wearing armor. She was confident that she could kill him come the case. But this wasn't a bandit or a murderer; he was just a drunkard looking for a fight. The idea of killing him left a bad taste in her mouth, so she'd have to think about something else.

Ognar was surprised when he saw the head of the girl dropping backwards. Had she just fainted? It couldn't be that it was already over, could it? He lost focus, and that joined with his advanced state of inebriation, meant that he could do nothing to prevent the violent head-butt that he received directly in the middle of the face. Louise, for her part, was rewarded with the very satisfactory noise of Ognar's nose breaking under the impact with her helmet, which she was still wearing on her head.

'_Safer than sorry indeed!'_

Unfortunately, she was disappointed to see that the blow hadn't been enough to knock Ognar down.

"Waaaaagh!" He gave a cry of pain and anger and threw the girl through the air.

Louise's body fell with violence on top of one of the tables. With the momentum that she was carrying she rolled over and finally landed on the ground. Louise rose, soaked in alcohol. On the table someone had left a half-finished bottle and with her back she had broken it. Again she thanked the Founder that she was wearing the leather cuirass, or else her back would be filled with pieces of broken glass. Luckily the impact hadn't been as painful as she expected.

"Five septims for the newbie!" Shouted a woman, somewhere.

What?! They were betting on her fight? They were betting _in her favor?_ That didn't feel half bad.

"Sixty- eight to five in favor of Ognar!"

Now she was angry.

The green giant ran toward her as an enraged bull. Taking advantage of her small size Louise managed to evade him crawling under the tables, but with his tremendous fortitude it was easy for Ognar to part the furniture from his path.

For a moment Louise thought about fleeing toward the exit, but the seconds she spent searching for it gave Ognar the time he needed to reach her, grab her by one of her legs and throw her again in the air. This time the girl smashed against a chair. Louise felt it breaking into pieces under her weight.

"Trying to run away milk-drinker?"

Louise tried to stand up, but the violent hit had left her winded. She looked to her side and saw one of the legs that had broken off from the chair with the impact. Yes, she could use that! She took it. Louise wasn't ready yet to draw her sword, but with a club she could…

"Ahhh?!" Louise felt as she was grabbed by her leg once more and lifted by the airs. But this time Ognar didn't throw her, instead he began to shake her from one side to the other. Everyone started laughing, the blood was getting to her head, and worst of all…

_'My… My head. Oh, God, my skirt!'_

Louise was done. She grabbed her improvised club between her hands and left her instincts took hold of her to guide her strike. She smashed with all her strength the first part of Ognar's body that she could reach.

*Crack*

The establishment went silent again. The strong hand lost all its force and released the leg of the young noble. The Orsimer fell on his knees, with his hands trying unsuccessfully to contain the burning pain in his crotch. Were those tears in his face? For a moment Louise felt bad for him. But then she remembered what he had done, and started considering how honorable would it be to kick him now that he was down.

"Ha! Typical male cockiness." Said a voice to her right. That was the woman who had tried to help her before, "Think they are invincible while they parade such a massive weak point that hangs from between their legs." Louise blushed at the mention of her (very literal) low-blow. The woman extended a hand to help her get on her feet, "Name's Uthgerd."

"Louise." She answered and accepted the help that was offered to her, "Thank you."

"Thanks to you. You made me about ninety septims richer."

"You bet on me?! Why?"

"Because I liked your character and because you had a sword. Although apparently you didn't need it." She said, looking at the collapsed form of Ognar. Louise saw that Uthgerd was carrying a small pouch, probably filled with coins. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go and spend my ill-gotten money. Next round on my charge!" The women shouted and everyone started cheering. She abandoned Louise and sat down at one of the tables that were still standing. A couple of men lifted Ognar (who seemed to have fainted) over their shoulders and took him to one of the nearby rooms. Another group got on the task of accommodating tables and chairs. Soon enough, alcohol started flowing once again. Not even five minutes had passed and the place was already as good as it could possibly be. There were no signs left of Louise's short yet quite destructive fight.

_'Could it be that this is a daily occurrence?' _It wouldn't be a surprise if that happened to be the case.

Louise fixed herself up the best she could, praying that the rigid leather faulds that she wore over her skirt had been enough to cover her modesty. She was too tired to worry about that. And she doubted that, with all the mead, anyone would remember anything.

Louise returned to her place. Fortunately (for the first time in a while) a cup of milk was waiting for her. She sat down and took a sip; before she took a second one, a stranger sat by her side.

"Not many would dare to ask for milk at a Nordic tavern, or would stand their ground against a raging orc." The man said.

"I don't know if you realized it, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. And he didn't look like any of the orcs that I have heard about." Louise replied between gulps, "And I didn't know that there was something wrong with asking for what I like."

"Many see it as a sign of weakness, that if you aren't strong enough to handle alcohol you aren't strong enough to fight. I'm surprised you didn't know about that; it's one of the first things you learn when one gets to Skyrim."

Louise turned to face him. At first glance, he looked like a very unremarkable man. He had long and dirty blond hair and a bushy beard. But he was huge! Easily as muscular as the accursed orc (or whatever he was) that Louise had defeated, and he wasn't half bad looking…

_'No, Louise, no! You cannot think like that about a commoner! You have a fiancé!'_

Louise shook her head to clear it. It seemed that the alcohol coming from Ognar's breath had been enough to affect her too.

"I arrived here just over three days ago, and I didn't have a choice in that either."

"Family problems?" The man asked. He made a signal with his hand to the waitress and she immediately brought him a jar. Louise assumed that the man was a daily customer and didn't need to say what he wanted.

"Magic." Louise explained to him with a bit of bitterness in her voice, "Now I have to go meet the Jarl so he can take me to his magician, Ferengar."

"You want a meeting with Jarl Balgruuf?" The man mocked her, "And how do you believe that you are going to achieve that?"

"Warning him about the attack of the dragon in Helgen."

The man went silent and put the jar down. Some moments passed before he spoke again.

"A dragon? Many would consider such a statement pure fantasy. Do you have any proof?"

"Apart from my word? None. Alvor of Riverwood sent me to warn the Jarl, but the guards don't let me enter the castle."

"Really? I know Alvor, we used to be friends during our childhood. Try going after sunrise, I understand that after the change of shift, the guards are more… sympathetic."

"I'm going to think about that."

The stranger continued asking her about Helgen, asking Louise that she tell him every detail she managed to remember about the attack. When she finished her story he left without telling her his name.

Louise spent over an hour at the inn, seeing how the clients slowly departed. When the morning sun began to peek through the windows, she decided that it was her turn to leave.

_'Only try again? Yes, sure. If I want something done well, I'm going to have to do it myself.'_

* * *

><p>One of the first things she noticed about Whiterun, now that she had enough light to be able to fully appreciate the city, was that it was divided into three 'levels'. The first and lowest, from where she had entered, was where the market plaza was located and where the majority of the population lived in. The second level, higher and separated by a set of stairs, looked more elegant and better cared for; surely it was there where the most prominent citizens lived. And the third level, the highest of them all, was dedicated to the castle. The structure of the city was admirable, but for her that meant that it was difficult to move without having a pair of eyes on her neck at all times, not to mention all the stairs that she had to use to get anywhere.<p>

*Yawn*

And the lack of sleep and frustration were already affecting her.

Three times she had circumvented the area around the castle, trying to find some place to enter. Unfortunately the only secondary entrance that she had found headed to the dungeon, and she was determined to not visit that place.

It was curious that there weren't service entrances. It was understandable if the serving staff had their own rooms inside, but what did they do during holidays when they had to bring food and entertainment from the outside? And how would they get the provisions inside? Louise doubted that they used the main door. That door should always be clear so the nobles and officials could use it. Maybe it was hidden. She didn't have the time to search for it, if that was the case. The only positive thing that had come out of her journey was that from the height she had been able to identify the distribution of the city.

Tired, she began the slow walk back to the main square. It was still early, but she could already see in the distance merchants preparing their stands. Perhaps the movement and a change of air would help her to clear her mind.

'_What to do? What to do?'_

Louise descended to the intermediate level. It was a pity that the largest tree in that area was dry, or it would have been a perfect place to relax for a while. She went on her way toward the market square where the traders had already begun to take care of their customers.

"Good morning, Carlotta." Louise overheard a woman greeting a friend.

"Adrianne! How are you today?"

Louise found an abandoned wooden box, put her backpack aside and sat on it.

"Very well. And you? And Mila?"

"We are fine, thank you for asking. I have here what you asked for."

"Did you manage to get everything? Tomatoes? And also radishes?"

'_There isn't a single building site in the entire city to get a ladder from.' _And, to tell the truth, the last time hadn't gone all that well. It had been pure luck, more than her skill, what had allowed her to infiltrate Helgen's keep. Not that Louise would ever admit that.

"The war made it difficult to get fresh products, but for a friend? I have my ways. But tell me, Adrianne, I heard that you were having some problems with Idolaf. Is everything… all right? Is he giving you any problems?

"No, Carlotta. I'm fine. It is nothing like what happens between you and Mikael."

"Don't remind me of that buffoon."

_'Didn't I read something in one of Cattleya's books about a woman sneaking into a party hidden inside of a cake?' _She barely remembered that book. She had read it years ago and her sister had taken it away as soon as she had found it in Louise's hands.

"Idolaf just wanted to commission an order of swords for the legion. But it is a fool's errand! Paying whatever it takes I can't forge five hundred swords by my own by the end of the month! I don't know why he doesn't just swallow that stubborn pride of his and ask Eorlund for help."

"Did he tell you that he'd kiss Ulfric's ass first?"

"That he would bend his knee to him."

_'Maybe if I hide inside a box, and move very slowly… no, no, that's a stupid idea.'_

"Close enough. Moving on to a happier subject, did you finish the sword for the Jarl?"

"I finished it the other day. Now I need to get it to him."

"And why don't you just carry it yourself?"

'_Mmm, maybe I could reach the balcony at the top of the castle. Yes, that could work!'_

"I can't! You know what people say about the advice that my father gives him; I don't want them to think badly of him if I come and go from the castle freely. It has to be something more subtle, I have to get someone to do it. "

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you Carlotta. Well, I'm going, I have to start working at the forge. Take care!"

"See you soon."

_'I would have to tell Hod to lend me his oxen. But where would I get a seventy meters long rope?! Besides… wait a minute. What did she say?'_

* * *

><p>Adrianne Avenicci viewed herself as a woman of action, strong and independent. She had always shown a remarkable ability to learn all martial talents, and as a child she had spent more time fighting with the boys than playing with girls. That's why her father had given her the affectionate nickname of 'Warmaiden', which had inspired the name for her armory. Even more, when she had just started her business, she had to go out hunting, facing lions and wolves, to get the necessary skins for tanning.<p>

That's why she was so surprised at how much the broad smile that the strange girl was giving her, disturbed her.

"I am going to solve all your problems!" The girl announced happily.

"Oh, hell, no!" Adrianne took a step to the side and continued her walk. Unfortunately, the girl turned out to be very persistent.

"Wait, wait! I just want to help!"

"Whatever you're offering, I assure you that I don't want it. And let go of my arm!" The blacksmith shook violently, trying to wriggle out of the girl's grip.

"Just listen to me! I want to help you carry the Jarl's sword to the castle."

"You must be mad! What makes you think I'm going to entrust my greatest work to a complete stranger?"

"But I'm very reliable! I-I am going to prove it." The girl released her arm and dashed at full speed in direction of 'The Drunken Huntsman'.

Without waiting to discover what had attracted the girl to that place, Adrianne sped up to reach her home as soon as possible.

* * *

><p><em>'Distrustful commoner.'<em> Louise cursed inwardly, although she had to admit that first impression could have gone better. Fortunately, if that woman wanted her to prove that she was reliable, Louise could do so easily, because only a few meters away from where she had intercepted Adrianne, she had seen Hod talking with someone. It was only a matter of bringing him to the blacksmith to speak in Louise's favor.

"Did you bring me my arrow shafts, Hod?" Asked the woodcutter's companion, in a voice that to Louise sounded strangely famil…

_'Oh, hell!' _At first it hadn't been easy to recognize him, now that he was well-dressed and well-combed, but as she approached them, Louise realized that this was one of the two elves that she had seen last night, _'That's the one who… with his… ugh!' _ Louise's face adopted a light red tint, remembering what her eyes had seen inside that inn,_ 'I already survived two encounters with elves, I will survive the third."_

"I have them right here, Elrindir." Hod said pointing at a package to his right.

"Perfect! How much will it…"

"Hod!" shouted the girl clinging to the woodcutter's arm with violence, "Come here, I need you to help me with something."

"Friend of yours?" Asked the Bosmer, amused with the bizarre scene.

"Something like that. But, Louise, shouldn't you be at the castle by now?"

"I had a problem, now come, you're going to help me solve it." Louise insisted, trying to drag him from his arm.

"Wait a minute!" Hod shouted, "Can you tell me what is happening?"

Louise stopped; she looked at him for a moment, took a deep breath and started recounting what had happened.

"I need you to talk with this blacksmith that wants to gift a sword to the Ki-I mean Jarl! But she can't because his father is the counselor and that would look bad on him. I want you to tell her that I'm reliable so she gives me the sword in order to get pass the guards, so I can speak to the Jarl who will present me to his magician and will help me reach home!"

"What." It was the elf who expressed his opinion, but by the look of utter confusion in Hod's face, he shared it.

"Just come over here!" She said, pulling from his arm again.

"All-all right. Elrindir, it's the same price as last time."

"No problem then, I'll pay you later."

* * *

><p>"Let me see if I get this right." The blacksmith Adrianne said. She had managed to get to her house, but the girl (who had presented herself as Louise) had followed her, "A dragon could be on the verge of attacking Riverwood," The girl nodded, "and you" She said, pointing at Hod, "assure me that this story is true and that she is <em>not<em> trying to steal the sword that I'm going to entrust her with."

"You can be sure of that." The woodcutter replied, "Since a few months ago the sightings have become more frequent and, although we didn't see it, Alvor and my wife are convinced of the danger."

"I have known Alvor and Gerdur since we were kids." Adrianne's husband, Ulfberth, said from behind the counter. He had remained quiet until now, "If they're sure that there is a threat, I believe them."

_'Does everyone know Alvor but the people who really matter?'_

Adrianne remained thoughtful for a moment.

"Well," She finally said, "I guess I'll help you with this."

"You can trust me!" Louise shouted, standing proudly.

"Of course I can! My house is just next to the gates; it's not like you are going out without me seeing you." Adrianne felt a strange satisfaction seeing the girl's smile vanishing from her face.

* * *

><p>"How <em>*pant*<em> it _*pant*_ weighs." Louise complained while adjusting the greatsword at her back. When the blacksmith gave the sword to her, it hadn't looked that heavy. Even more, while testing it between her fingers, Louise was convinced that, with some practice, she could have been able to wield it without major difficulties. But, with the added weight of the overly decorated sheath and her already loaded backpack, it had been too much for her poor legs. And now, she was in front of her biggest obstacle to date.

"Accursed stairs."

The stairs separating the two residential districts had been easy to climb, after all those only had a few steps and her body was more rested. Seeing now the stairs that conducted one to the castle's entrance, she was convinced that they had more than a thousand steps. But she had used them four times already; she only had to climb them one last time.

Giving a sigh of resignation, she put her right foot on the first step.

"One."

* * *

><p>"Eig- <em>*pant* *pant*<em> Eight- _*pant* *pant*_ Eight-y." She had made it! She had conquered another obstacle! Louise rested her weight against one of the wooden pillars that adorned the final stretch, trying to catch her breath, "Why the heck did no one install handrails?!" The last time she hadn't noticed the lack of them, but now those would have been useful.

"Can I help you with something?" Asked a nearby voice, "Are you ok?"

"Per-fectly." Louise replied, trying to straight up, "Who are you?"

"I'm Lydia." The girl replied. She didn't seem to be much older than Louise and she was dressed in the city-watch's uniform. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the color of Louise's hair, "Ah! We had been told about you coming, but we were expecting you earlier."

"What are you…?" Louise tried to ask, but the guard was already pushing her toward the entrance.

"Here she is!" Lydia shouted to another guard, stationed next to the door.

"Was about time."

The doors opened and Louise was pushed inside.

"Good luck." Lydia told her cheerfully, closing the doors behind the noble's back.

...

That had been much easier than what she was expecting. Had Adrianne tipped them off that she was coming? That no longer mattered, she was already inside and Louise wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The interior was, for her joyful surprise, very sober. Some curtains or fine paintings decorated the walls, but little more. She couldn't help but compare it with the Royal Family's castle back in Tristain, which was much better adorned, demonstrating the wealth of her people.

After passing the first room, she found another pair of guards who opened another set of doors, which communicated with a huge room. In its interior, a huge table had been placed, easily more than ten meters long. Surely it was used during banquets.

At the end of the room, Louise saw two people. One was a small man with little hair on his head. He was standing next to a large throne occupied by another man, well-built and very well-dressed, with long blond hair and an abundant and very well taken care of beard. He also was carrying on top of his head what was, without a doubt, a crown.

_'Balgruuf! Yes!"_

Finally she had found him! She would tell him about Helgen, and everything would be taken care of. Louise accelerated her walk to meet with the famous Jarl.

"And what would you have me do, then? Nothing?" She heard Balgruuf asking his adviser. It seemed that they were in the middle of a very heated discussion.

"My Lord, please. This is no time for rash actions." The man, who Louise assumed was Adrianne's father Proventus, said trying to calm the Jarl down.

Well, whatever the reason for their discussion was, it was of no concern to Louise. She simply continued her route without distractions; she was only a few meters from the throne now. But if she had seen to her side, then she might have seen someone approaching her at full speed, and perhaps she could have been able to avoid the hand that grabbed her from her shoulder.

"What's the meaning of this interruption?" asked a woman, restraining Louise.

Who dared now!? Louise had already gone through enough misfortune to let a maid stop her so close to her target! With all the accumulated frustration of more than three days of hardships, she turned to confront her.

"Release me now! How do you dare!? I am… oy... and... eep..." And found herself face to face with the most abominable creature she had ever seen.

"Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving any visitors." That ... that ... that thing said.

It was a woman, Louise was sure of that, but it was a mockery of any notion that Louise had of what a woman should be. Her eyes were blood red, as the very flames of hell. Her skin was black, as black as the jaws of a wolf. And her ears were as sharp as daggers. This ... this thing was not a simple elf, this was a demon emerged from the depths of the abyss to stop her now that she was so close to a triumph.

She had to take action, she had to fight, face this monster!

"Eeee... eee... ee... "

As soon as her mind got back to work.

"Irileth, what is the meaning of this interruption?" Asked Balgruuf, who had found the discussion with his steward interrupted.

"I don't know, my Jarl, this girl managed to bypass security. I will go and find out why the guards let an armed stranger enter." The Dunmer explained.

"It doesn't matter Irileth, bring her to me."

Without releasing the strange girl, Balgruuf's housecarl tried to make her move forward, but Louise's legs were as paralyzed as the rest of her body, and she struck with force against the ground.

"Ouch!"

She rose quickly, with some pain on her nose. She had to fight against the weight of the sword she was carrying on her back to keep her balance, but managed to stay upright.

"I am... I am... eh..."

"Talk fast girl, I am a busy man." The Jarl rushed her.

"I... This sword!"

"Ah!" exclaimed Proventus in recognition. "It is for me, my Lord. I'll deal with this."

The steward approached Louise, giving thanks to the Eight that the Jarl was distracted, discussing with Irileth the safety of the castle. So, he had time.

"Adrianne, isn't she?" Proventus asked Louise between whispers, "Poor girl, always so eager to prove herself. I'll present it to Balgruuf when his mood is… agreeable." He withdrew the sword from her shoulders and, discreetly, put a bag of coins between her hands. "That is all, my Jarl." The steward announced.

"We will continue with this later then, Irileth."

"You can be sure of that." She replied harshly.

"And about you, girl, don't you have anything else to say?" The Jarl asked Louise, "If not, then get out, I have a city to keep."

Louise reacted quickly, she couldn´t let everything be ruined now.

"N-NO! I come from Riverwood, it's in danger!" She shouted, doing her best to ignore the red-eyed woman to the Jarl's left.

"What kind of danger are you talking about?" The Jarl asked, placing a hand under his chin.

"A dragon! A dragon destroyed Helgen and the blacksmith Alvor believes that Riverwood is next."

Proventus looked at her incredulous, but before he managed to say something, Balgruuf got ahead of him.

"Alvor? The smith, isn't he? Reliable, solid fellow. Not prone to flights of fancy. And you are sure it was a dragon that destroyed Helgen? This wasn't some Stormcloak raid gone wrong?" He asked, with his full attention focused on Louise.

"I was there! That thing destroyed the whole town. It almost killed me."

"By Ysmir, it seems that you were right, Irileth." Balgruuf said, turning to the woman. "What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strength of our walls? Against a dragon?"

"My Lords, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. If that dragon is lurking in the mountains ..." Irileth tried to say, but Proventus interrupted her.

"The Jarl of Falkreach will view that as a provocation! He'll assume that we are preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him. We should not... "

"Enough!" The Jarl said firmly; he didn't need to shout. "I'll not stand idly while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once!"

"Sir!" The woman replied before leaving the room at full speed.

"If you will excuse me, I'll return to my duties." Proventus said, grumpy.

"That would be best." The steward left, and Balgruuf turned his attention back to Louise. "Well, you have done well. You've done Whiterun a service, and I won't forget it. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Louise couldn't stop smiling; it seemed that things finally were turning on her favor.

* * *

><p>"Every time I cast a spell…"<p>

"Mhm."

"…explosions…"

"Mhm."

"…summoning ritual…"

"Mhm."

"And you are not listening!" Louise shouted.

After making her request to the Jarl, he had conducted her to Farengar's study. At first, Louise had been elated, but her mood started drooping the closer they got to the mage's chambers. Dust and spider-webs started appearing, like the servants were scared of getting close to that room. And, after meeting the man, she didn't blame them.

"Of course I'm listening miss Valliére, it's difficult not to. I'm simply not taking notice of it." Farengar had barely paid any attention to the Jarl when he entered, and even less to Louise, spending most of his time absorbed in several thick books that he had scattered across his room.

"But the Jarl told me you'd help me!"

"No, allow me to correct you." He said while marking a series of spots on a map, "What Balgruuf said was that I would find your case interesting and, effectively, I do. We are talking here about a strange case of transcontinental teleportation. And with a previously unknown continent on top of that! It's fascinating."

"Then why aren't you looking into it?!" Louise demanded.

"Because the research I'm conducting on the dragons is for Witherun's sake." He had moved to another corner of his room, where he had a desk with an open tome waiting for him, "We defeated them once and I will discover how. So, I'm putting your problem for later."

"Then I'll help you!"

"Excuse me?" He asked, raising his head to look at Louise for the first time since she had entered.

"I'll help you with your research, and you'll finish earlier and can start working in my case."

"And what makes you believe that you are qualified to help me?"

"I'm also a mage!"

"Not a very successful one from what you tell me." Louise had to restrain herself. Farengar was a mage, it wouldn't be proper (or easy) to strangle him, "But I have to admit that your upbringing would certainly make you a more competent assistant than the average fool that comes asking for a job. Do you know how to read?"

"W-what kind of question is that? Of course I can!" Was that man actually asking that?

"Much more competent." He said, mostly to himself, before returning to another book, "How much is three times eight?"

"What? Ah… twenty-four." The question surprised her, but it was an easy one.

"Which are the symptoms for magicka exhaustion?"

"Magicka? Do you mean willpower?"

"Magical energy. Maybe that's how you call it."

"Numbness of the extremities, dizziness and headaches. It can cause blindness, atrophy the capacity to cast spells and death in the worst cases." She explained with pride, remembering her lessons at the Academy.

"Who was known as the Slave-Queen?"

"Alessia."

"How do you know that?" Farengar exclaimed, with genuine surprise on his face.

"I read it in a book last night."

"Good memory. Well, I guess I accept your services."

"Perfect. What do you need me to do?" She asked exited.

"I am preparing an expedition to some nearby ruins, Bleak Falls Barrow." He explained, showing Louise a map of Whiterun's hold, "It's an old tomb, built by the ancient Nords near Riverwood, a miserable little village a few kilometers south of..."

"I know where it is." Louise replied sharply; she didn't really like the way he had talked about the town.

"Well, that will save me some explanations." He said dismissively before folding the map and returning to his books, "In any case, my... sources, informed me that there is an old stone tablet (probably) buried somewhere there that could provide some information about the resurgence of the dragons."

"Then you want me to accompany you. As what? Bodyguard? Shouldn't you take some professional guards with you to fight the Draugrs?"

"Ah! You do have some common sense, I am glad to see that I wasn't wrong with you." The tone that the magician used reminded Louise to the tone that her sister used to congratulate a puppy that had learned a new trick, "Have you ever faced a Draugr? Unpleasant creatures, but not the most intelligent ones you could find. No, what I need isn't a guard, but someone who can help me to carry my things."

"Carry your things? You want me to be a vaunted mule?!" Louise asked, insulted.

"Oh, no, no. I need much more than that. If it was that simple, I would take with me one of the Jarl's thugs. Like Anders or Lydia. What I need is someone with enough cranial capacity to give me a decent conversation so I don't get bored."

"So, transport and entertainment? Do you want me to cook for you too?"

"Wonderful! You will also take care of the food then."

"What?! No, I..."

"And that way I'll have time on the trip to start studying your problem."

"..._*Sigh* _All right, I'll do it if you promise to help me. When do we leave?"

"As soon as possible. I'll have my things organized and ready to leave tomorrow morning."

"Fine by me. In which room I'm going to stay in the meantime?"

Farengar paused, confused.

"A room? What are you talking about?"

* * *

><p>The mood at the tavern, Jon Battle-Born thought, was depressing. During the nights, after the booze had taken effect on the patrons, the mood was more appealing. But during these early hours of the morning, the only thing that one might expect from the public was melancholy. The idiot Mikael didn't even bother to play at these hours, knowing full well that nobody would be in the mood to give the much-needed tips. But Jon didn't want to become a bard only for the money. Being a Battle-Born, the truth was that he didn't have to play for gold. He enjoyed singing and enjoyed raising the spirit of his countrymen, as did the warriors-poets of old.<p>

But Whiterun was a wasp's nest, on the verge of bursting. Despite their Jarl's efforts, the war would inevitably call to their doors.

Seeing this apathy filled his heart with sadness. He needed something, something special to give back some of the lost joy to the people.

And suddenly something occurred to him.

It was one of the oldest songs in existence. Some said that Ysgramor himself had helped to compose it to lead his warriors into battle. That's why it had been sung by all the bards across all the holds for thousands of years. And it was for that reason that people had gotten bored with it and nobody cared to play it anymore. But now, maybe, that was just what this people needed.

He took his lute and began playing the opening notes. Only a few seemed to have recognized the song that he was about to sing. Jon prepared his throat, and started singing with all the strength of his lungs.

"Our hero, our hero, claim _a warrior's heart_,"

The whispers ceased immediately.

"I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes,"

Everyone was now listening, waiting anxiously for the following verse.

"With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art,"

A singing voice joined his; she was one of the guards that had passed to wet her throat.

"Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes,"

Two, three voices more joined. They were Ulfberth, Sigurd and Torvar.

"It's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes,"

Five, Six, Seven voices joined in his!

"Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes."

The entire establishment had joined, all were singing now as a single voice. Jon was ecstatic; he had achieved what he wanted. Perhaps this was just a fleeting joy, but at least for a few moments, they had forgotten about all their problems.

With his task done and thinking that he had a lady to visit later, Jon decided that it was time to part.

On his way out, he barely paid attention to the angry pink-haired girl that had just entered, and seemed to be looking for a room to rent.

…

* * *

><p>AN: These were some very busy weeks. First College, then my job and then I lost access to my PC for several days. But it's finally done! My longest chapter yet and I'm very proud of it, if I can say so myself. Hope you liked it.

Next chapter Louise will explore her first dungeon and upgrade her equipment.


	5. Chapter 5

_Más ágil que una tortuga, más fuerte que un ratón, más noble que una lechuga… su escudo es un corazón._

_Goodbye Chespirito. Thank you for my childhood._

_Thank thefluffyone93, A Mountain Sage, CryptIXeeper__ and __Fragment of ring because they made my grammatical horrors readable._

Under strange skies

Chapter five

Breaking Point

* * *

><p><em>You are blood-made glorious, uncle, and will come again, as fox animal or light. Cyrod is still ours.<em>

_-Morihatus-_

* * *

><p><em>Dear Diary<em>

_I am not quite sure how to do this. _

_Before [ink-stain] falling apart, Montmorency had tried to explain me how to write one, but that was a long time ago. I'm going to do it the best I can._

_I guess..._

_I guess I just have to start from the beginning. Everything [scribble] went to hell when I messed up my summoning ritual three days ago…_

_After I was forbidden from staying at Dragonsreach, I managed to get a room at the local inn. People are being [scribble] friendly to me. With the coins that Hadvar gave me (I hope he's well), plus what Florentius paid me for the sword; I have enough money for the rental of one week._

_I won't need it; tomorrow we're parting towards Riverwood with Farengar._

_I need to practice my cooking. I'm hearing the customers coming in; I'm going to ask Hulda if she wants some help at the kitchen. A little more gold could be useful._

_..._

_[Wine-stain]_

_Things could have gone [Grease-stain]_

_..._

_Dear Diary_

_I'm writing while traveling with a caravan of soldiers. The detachment that the Jarl ordered was ready to go along with us, so Farengar and I are accompanying them._

_All soldiers are men. I am the only woman here. I feel uncomfortable._

_[Ink-stain]_

_I miss [scribble]_

_[Scribble]_

_..._

_I am back in Riverwood, at Alvor's house. The blacksmith was happy to receive me again. _

_I'm _

_glad to be with them. They are nice people._

_Hadvar is no longer here; I was told that he parted with the [scribble] Khajiit this morning. I remember hearing another caravan passing us by, but I paid it no attention. That must have been him._

_I was thinking that Hadvar would stay another day at Riverwood. _

_I would have liked to say hello._

_I asked Sigrid to help me practice my cooking. She accepted immediately. She even called Dorthe to help me. At first the young child wasn't convinced about helping me, but Sigrid told her that I was going to be the cook for our expedition, and that raised her spirit a lot. _

_At night, the four of us sat down to eat. Alvor told us that he's going to be the one responsible for the maintenance of the equipment that belongs to the soldiers sent here from Whiterun. It's a very good job, and Sigrid was very happy. But then he ruined it, announcing that he was going to start teaching Dorthe how to forge swords. Sigrid almost killed him._

_Dorthe is very excited, insists that she wants to forge me a sword._

_We ate the stew that I helped to prepare. It was very good. They told me that I did a very good job._

_I'm very happy for them._

_[Ink-stain] _

_Tomorrow I'm parting with Farengar on the way to the ruins._

_..._

_Damned cold, damned snow and damned Farengar!_

_This is madness! These people are completely crazy! What am I to find out next? It was already bad enough to discover that they were heretics!_

_I guess I should better explain what is happening. _

_This morning we started our trip from Riverwood towards the mountains, only Farengar and I and a couple of horses that we brought from Whiterun. We set up camp inside an abandoned watchtower, and during dinner we talked about my magic._

_He is not a noble! Even more, he tells me that in Skyrim very few nobles are mages! These Nords are even worse savages than I thought possible._

_He told me..._

_He told me that almost everyone can learn magic in Tamriel. Any farmer, any servant should be able to do so._

_Tomorrow he's going to attempt teaching me some of his spells. I refused! I won't use his heretical powers._

_Of course that's not going to work._

_He said that if I'm so sure that it's not going to work, I should try to do it anyway. _

_I am worried._

_He explained to me that he does know some rituals to invoke familiars. But they are different. Some of the reagents are different. Here there are no manticores and the dragons are different!_

_And if I can't recreate the ritual?_

_I don't want to stay here_

_I want to go home_

_I'm [scribble]_

_[Scribble]_

_[Tear-stains]_

* * *

><p>"Candlelight!" She shouted, extending her hands as Farengar had taught her to do.<p>

"Again!"

"Candlelight!" She said again, quieter this time, and shifting the position of her feet to fix her balance.

"Again!"

"Candlelight." This time it was only a disinterested murmur. She had already accepted that it wasn't going to happen.

"No, no, no! Let me see your hands." Farengar stepped up, his feet burying into the snow and taking the hands of a very reluctant Louise between his.

"They are fine!" She insisted, trying to wriggle out of the mage's grip.

"Of course they are not. Your fingers are wrong, don't you see? The index finger must cross over to the ring finger." He explained, showing with his own hand how she should do it.

"I can't! I can't bend the fingers like... ouch!"

"See that you can? Now, try again."

"Dog." Louise whined while flexing her aching fingers. She set in position one more time and tried casting the spell again, "Candlelight!" And, just as the other times, absolutely nothing happened.

"It doesn't make any sense!" The magician exclaimed, exasperated, "Candlelight is one of the most basic spells in existence. A child should be able to wield its power!"

"Maybe you are a useless teacher!" She shouted, her tone of voice rising quite a bit .

"Oh, please. A Direnni once taught his pet parrot how to launch fireballs. I believe that I should be able to teach you."

"Better magicians than you assured me the same thing. No one managed anything." She replied, with bitterness in her voice.

"And I assure you that they were not better than me. No, this is something else." Farengar stood pensive in front of her.

"Just give me your staff and I'll be able to launch my spells!" The girl demanded, pointing to the wooden baton that stuck out from one of the bags that they had brought with them, which were now resting next to the entrance to the watchtower.

"And risk you destroying it? You told me yourself that you made a book explode the last time you tried casting one of our spells."

"But it was a book! I never destroyed a wand! Not even the sword-wands we used to play with..."

"Wait!" He interrupted her with a raised palm, "Sword-wands? Can you tell me how they operate?"

"Eh? Those are just steel swords with a silver core for... what are you doing?" At the middle of her explanation, the magician had turned away and started browsing through one of their bags. From its inside he pulled out a saucepan, some books and even a rope. Finally, he got back to her with a knife that he placed between her hands.

"I was looking for this."

"What is this?" Louise asked while drawing the knife from its sheath. It was beautiful. It didn't shine as gold, but it had a similar color, and the blade had been engraved to resemble a leaf.

"An elven dagger." Louise shivered and almost dropped it, "It isn't as good as one made of ebony, but it is an excellent magical conductor. Try using it as a wand."

Eyeing the dagger with apprehension, as if it was about to jump from her hand to slit her throat, Louise searched for an appropriate target. Some fifteen meters away she found a stone of good size. She set in position, aimed with the dagger-wand and readied her spell.

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

"Yes!" Louise couldn't avoid giving a small leap of happiness. In spite of everything, getting her magic back was the greatest joy she had felt for some time now. What did it matter that it was only her useless explosions? It was her magic!

_'Only a failure such as you would cheer for such a shameful display. You were always a zero and are still a zero.' _A voice whispered to her ear, which sounded to Louise like a strange amalgam between Kirche's and Éleonore's.

The noble stopped her small exhibition of joy. The voice had been completely right.

Farengar, meanwhile, remained impassive, unaware of the thoughts that crossed through the mind of the noble, and focused only on the stone she had used as target.

"Where does the smoke come from?"

"What?" The noble asked, convinced that she had heard wrong.

"The smoke. No matter how you call it, you are not conjuring a ball of fire. You're doing something else, but I don't know what it is!" He shouted, irritated.

"What a surprise…"

"And could you call your spell something else? Like 'Explosion'?"

"What does it have to do with anything!?"

"It doesn't seem right to name a spell in a way that distracts from its true effect. Now, do it again, I want to observe it more carefully this time."

Muttering a series of distinctly unladylike words under her breath that described Farengar in a fairly colorful way, Louise cast her spell once more.

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

"That was very childish." Farengar reprimanded her, his face completely expressionless. In a display of the utmost maturity, Louise showed him her tongue. Without letting that distract him from his task, the mage headed toward the center of the explosion to analyze the results, "You see? This is what I'm talking about." He explained while passing a hand across the exposed face of the stone, "There are no burn marks or ash. So, I again ask: where does the smoke come from?"

"And what do I know!? It's magic!" The noble yelled, infuriated.

"I'm not going to lower myself to respond to that." Farengar took a moment to regain his composure, "In any case, do you see these marks here? These cracks appear to have been caused by some type of overwhelming blow, but the stone didn't move."

"And that means…?"

"I don't know! So, we are going to try something different. I want you to attack me."

"...Are-are you sure?" The girl asked, looking for any sign that confirmed that the magician had gone completely crazy. Although, thinking about it, maybe he already was.

"Ever hit someone with one of your spell?

"Yes."

"Any wounded?"

"A-a servant that fell over and sprained his ankle."

"It's safe. In addition, I'm going to be protected by a shield." Farengar performed some movements with his hands and uttered an enchantment unknown to Louise. A wall of golden light materialized in front of him, "Whenever you are ready."

"Mmm, all right." She wasn't entirely convinced, but the idea of blowing up Farengar's head with one of her explosions was quite tempting at the moment. She pointed low anyway, aiming at one of his legs, "Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

"Agh!"

"Oh, Founder!" Louise ran toward where Farengar had collapsed. In spite of her private fantasies she didn't want to return to Whiterun to tell the Jarl that it was her fault that he had to look for a new mage, "A-are you ok?"

"Y-yes. I'm fine." He answered, getting right away back to his feet. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be injured, "That was strange."

"What was?"

"The smoke again. And…" The mage trailed off and began walking from side to side, in deep concentration.

"What is wrong with you?" The noble asked, each time more concerned about Farengar's strange antics. Had he hit his head?

"Come, we're going to try one more thing." He finally said, before heading at full speed toward the half-collapsed tower that they had used as a shelter the night before.

"I'm following." The girl answered, bored.

Louise entered after him and found the man unearthing a strange figure of wood and iron from the snow that had invaded the inside of the tower. Louise kneeled beside him and started helping. In just a couple of minutes they had managed to get out a wooden cross of little more than a meter and a half in height, an iron plate and what was possibly an iron pot.

"And what is that?" The noble asked.

"A training dummy." He explained, "The guards always have one or two of these in their posts for practice. Luckily, they didn't take this one with them when they abandoned this place." Between the two of them, they managed to install it outside, nailing the cross into the snow and placing the pot and the plate as helmet and armor, "Done."

"You want me to use this as a target? Why not the stone?"

Before answering her, Farengar got behind the dummy and... hugged it?

"The stone wouldn't have let me do this." The scholar performed the same movements that Louise had already seen and conjured the barrier once more, "Whenever you are ready, attack me again."

" ... "

"Girl?"

" ... "

"Louise!"

"What? Ah! Oh... Yes, I'm going." Louise aimed her wand, trying to remember the exact moment that her life had become so surreal. _'Accursed invocation."_

_**Booom!**_

Well, there was her explosion, although this time there were no screams of pain. That was a bit disappointing.

"And? What did you discover?" She asked Farengar, who was now moving away from the dummy.

"Your spell, the explosion, it doesn't overstrain my shield as normal attacks do, it… no, I don't really know what it is doing. I'm going to need my equipment in Dragonsreach to study this properly. In any case, we already lost too much time here; we better get moving if we want to reach the ruins before nightfall."

"So, this was all for nothing." Louise sighted. Farengar didn't hear her.

* * *

><p>Louise was in charge of lunch while Farengar finished dismantling their encampment. The night had been horrible, and the exercises that the mage had made the girl perform during the morning to try to discover what was wrong with her magic had done little to improve her mood.<p>

The worst thing about all of it was that little more than an hour after abandoning the guard tower, a fierce snowstorm had begun whipping the mountainside, obstructing their path.

Farengar had said that, assuming good weather, the road from the camp to the ruins should take little more than two hours. With the tiresome and slow march that the snowstorm had forced them to adopt, four hours had already passed, and it seemed that they still had a long way to go.

She may have compiled a long list of things to complain about the mage (his complete ignorance of everything related to etiquette and personal space among them), but no one could say that Farengar was not a prepared man. Among the things they carried, Louise had confiscated a couple of coats to wear and even a thick pair of wool trousers that seemed to have been woven for a person half a meter taller and several kilos heavier than she was. The final result looked like a chubby figure of leather and hair on horseback, with only a pair of small pink eyes poking out from between the folds.

"Are we there yet?" Louise asked for the fourth time in the last half an hour. Her voice muffled by the thick scarf that she was wearing.

"Yes."

"Really?!" She exclaimed in surprise. She was dubious, but facing forward and focusing her view, she could see the mountaintop and, next to it, their destination. Stone stairs conducted toward a main gateway, still resisting the attack of the elements, with ancient stone arches decorating the entrance rising from the land as voracious teeth. It would have been fantastic to see such a construction during its time of splendor.

Encouraging her horse, Louise advanced.

"Wait!" Farengar warned her.

"What's wrong now? We're almost there!" Louise shouted while pulling the reins of her ride. She turned her body to face the mage, waiting for an explanation, but he remained immobile, with his eyes fixed on the ruins. Louise turned around, following Farengar's gaze and trying to identify what had captured his attention.

Due to the storm, which still didn't give signs of stopping, it wasn't easy to see more than five meters forward; trying to identify something specific about the ruins that were more than seventy meters away was almost impossible. But, forcing her view, Louise managed to see something, a figure that contrasted in the landscape. It looked like a person.

When she saw the arrow coming toward her, it was already too late.

"Louise!" Her companion shouted.

Her horse neighed in pain, and reared up before falling dead. Louise dropped and rolled to the ground. Dizzy, she tried to make sense of what had happened.

"Farengar! Where…"

_**Tagh**_

Louise heard the sound of a dry blow and felt a strange pressure on her chest. She looked down and saw the shaft of an arrow standing out from between her coats. The horror stole all the strength from her extremities and she fell to the ground, motionless.

_'They got me. They shot me. I'm dead. I don't want to die. Please God, Founder. Please mom."_

Louise began to hyperventilate, breathing erratically. And it was then that she realized that she was still alive. And felt no pain.

Slowly she searched with her hand the place where the arrow had embedded into, fearful of what she might find. She found the wooden shaft, and with her fingers she followed it until she felt the metal of the tip. The noble didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she discovered that there was no blood, and that the arrow hadn't been able to penetrate her armor. No, she was wrong, the tip had pierced the breastplate, but less than half a centimeter had managed to get to the other side, and it was just a small nuisance against her skin.

The coat had saved her. The archer hadn't seen that she was wearing armor, or he would have surely aimed somewhere else.

Dragging herself next to the body of the horse, she used it to hide from her attacker (praying to all the saints that she could remember that it was only one),as she removed the arrow and threw it to the side.

Doing everything in her power not to bring attention to herself, she peeked from behind her hiding spot, searching for Farengar. Immediately the girl found his horse, dead and full of arrows. Cold sweat ran through her back. Had he been killed?

_'No, that cannot be. A few miserable archers would never be able to take down a mage." _Her mind insisted, trying to convince herself. But then, if he was alive, where was he?

_**Fhoom!**_

Her question was answered with a mighty fireball that exploded next to one of the stone arches. Farengar was alive! And was fighting! The blizzard made it difficult to see him, but only a few meters further on, the magician was standing his ground, blocking the enemy attacks with his shield of light and counterattacking with his spells. Unfortunately, the constant barrage of arrows was evidence that the archer who had killed Louise's horse wasn't alone.

She needed to move to another hiding spot; the only reason that she was still alive was that they believed she had died with the first attack. She wasn't going to give them the opportunity to correct their mistake.

First she thought about going to Farengar, but with only her useless magic she didn't have any way of supporting him; she would just be a nuisance. Louise would need to close the distance if she wanted to use her sword.

About twenty meters to her right, and in direction to the ruins, she saw an enormous rock that could serve as cover.

_'I need to move.'_

She got rid of her coats and her bulky trousers. She was chilled to her bones, but at the moment she was more worried about dying riddled with arrows than freezing to death; mobility was more important.

At full speed, she stood up and ran toward the stone under the protection of her shield. She didn't know if it was luck or neglect of their assailants, but she managed to reach her destination without a single arrow fired in her direction.

Supporting her back against the rock, she tried catching her breath, with her heart beating like a maniac. Her mind knew that it was cold, but her body could no longer feel it. She touched with her back a series of reliefs carved into the rock. It wasn't a natural stone, but a piece of decoration that had fallen from some part of the tomb.

She had to move again. If she managed to circle them, she would have the advantage.

Rising her head from one side of the boulder, she saw that a section of the gateway had collapsed, leaving a narrow corridor that might lead her toward the other side of the structure. She took a deep breath before leaving her hiding place, and moved with her body pressed against the stone walkway. If she was right, the archers wouldn't see her coming. She tripped on a stone, but managed to keep her balance and reach the passageway.

_'Well. Well. Now I just…'_

A fireball exploded somewhere over her head. Someone screamed and a body plunged down to her side. Louise unsheathed her sword and closed her eyes. She stabbed two times.

She heard other people shouting up there; someone trying to ask for help, and another trying to give orders.

The young girl removed her sword from the body and took her chance to study it. He was a man of about thirty, poorly groomed and without any symbol to identify any allegiance. She made a great effort to ignore the gruesome wounds.

_'Bandits.'_

With her suspicions confirmed, Louise kept going, with her head down and moving as stealthy as she could. She got to the other side of the passage and found a precipice.

_'A false step and it would have been a long fall.'_

However, she was happy to see that the Nord architects seemed to prefer symmetry, because to her right she found another set of stairs that she could use to get to the top. She climbed them, searching every corner and every shadow. She couldn't let herself be taken by surprise because she had been careless.

She saw a man directly in front of her, firing arrow after arrow at an unseen target.

He was alone.

Seizing her opportunity, Louise approached furtively; if she could reach him without being discovered, she would finish him with ease. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side this time.

A powerful electrical discharge, surely conjured by Farengar, struck one of the pillars that the enemy was using as cover. The archer got to the ground to protect himself, and found himself face to face with Louise.

The noble was petrified. Was… was that fear what she saw in the man's face? The enemy cast the bow aside, it would be useless in hand to hand combat, and tried to get to his sword. But the young girl was faster. Before her opponent could stand, she made a leap toward him, crossing the distance that separated them. With a fast horizontal slash, Louise cut his hand. The man screamed but was violently silenced when, with a powerful lunge, the noble pierced his throat.

A metallic taste flooded her mouth and she felt a warm liquid washing across her face. She had unwittingly severed an artery and his blood had spurt out in every direction.

"Argh!" Louise had just enough time to regain her composure. In spite of her attempts to remain hidden, the dying cry of the man had been able to warn his allies of her presence.

"Harknir!" Someone shouted. Louise turned her head upwards and saw another bandit standing atop a higher level of the gateway.

The woman jumped from her position, sword in hand, in an attempt to cut Louise's shoulder. The noble fell back and with her shield she blocked the slash. She tried to recover to counterattack, but the woman launched a powerful kick that impacted on her left side, below her belly, just where the cuirass ended. Louise writhed with pain.

_'Stupid. Stupid.'_ She had taken too long to accommodate her shield-arm and that had given her enemy the chance to attack her unprotected flank.

The women tried a horizontal slash, but Louise took a step backwards and parried the attack with her own weapon. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the enemy threw a vicious punch to the side of the noble's face.

Louise fell to the ground heavily, letting go of her weapon. She felt dazed and breathless. The rogue tried to finish her off, but the noble rolled over onto her back and the murderous weapon got stuck in a crevice between the stones.

The girl stood up and, with the edge of her shield, Louise smashed her thigh. The woman cried in pain and almost fell on her knees. Without losing the initiative, the noble delivered a crushing blow to the bandit's head with the iron center of the buckler. Supporting her weight on one hand, her opponent attempted to fall back, but Louise didn't cease her attack and pushed her foe down the stairs. The woman lost her balance and fell rolling toward the ground. Louise wasn't going to let her advantage go to waste. Without stopping to look for her sword, she grabbed her shield between her two hands. A primitive and cruel part of her mind had recognized that if she could break the enemy's neck, the battle would be over.

Now it was her turn to jump the enemy.

Using her buckler as if it was a crude axe, she embedded it where the enemy had her head. But she failed the hit; the rogue was faster than what Louise had anticipated, and she stood up and charged the noble, smashing her shoulder into the girl.

Louise fell on her back. She quickly tried to roll to her right, trying to put some distance, but with lightning speed her enemy fell over the young girl, closing her hands over her throat. Louise threw punch after punch aiming for the warrior's face, but with her limited strength there was very little she could do. Louise feared that everything had ended, but something that none of the two combatants had considered was the terrain on which they were struggling. The fight between the two had loosened the snow, which had slowly and surely begun to slip away, pulling them towards the edge of the mountain.

Seeing the precipice closing dangerously, the bandit released the girl and tried to stand, but Louise caught the edge of her boot. The woman lost her footing and fell to the ground. Louise wanted to use her as support to get on her feet, but it was already too late. The snow drifted inexorably toward the emptiness.

The girl tried to nail her fingers into the snow, looking for some solid point to grab, but there was nothing. The snow just kept dragging her. First her feet fell, then her legs, and then her hip and her chest. It was only when she turned her head and saw the bottom of the abyss that her hands finally closed around a solid edge on the rock and her body was left hanging precariously from the side of the cliff.

The noble wanted to sigh in relief, but had barely begun to inhale when a strong pull almost forced her to lose her grip. The rogue had grabbed her right leg, clinging to the young girl in an attempt to save her life. Louise looked down and for a second their eyes met.

The woman couldn´t have been older than thirty, maybe less. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, surprisingly attractive for what she was.

Louise kicked her hand. She kicked again and then kicked for a third time. Terrified, the bandit tried to grab Louise's other leg, but she never managed to; her fingers loosened and she plunged to the void.

The noble couldn't do anything but see how her body was torn apart by the rocks some fifty meters below.

Louise swallowed hard, trying to contain the bile that was already making its way up her throat, and the tears that were running down her face. But she didn't have the time to think about it, her fingers were sliding and if she didn't do something soon she would share the fate of…

A rope fell next to her.

"Grab it!"

That was Farengar! Inwardly, Louise apologized for all the horrible things she had said about the man.

In a fast movement, she jumped from the cliff and caught the rope with all her strength and desperation. Slowly, the mage began to pull her up. Those were some of the longest and most stressful seconds of her entire life, but at the end of it, she was back on solid ground.

"Thanks." She said in whispers, still trying to calm her tense heart after her most recent near-death experience.

"Watch your steps next time." He told her dismissively. Well, yes, he was as insufferable as always.

"Now what?"

"We go ahead with the plan, of course."

"Bu-but what happens with these bandits? And if there are more of them somewhere?"

"You were quite effective disposing of the dross." Was he praising or insulting her? "And, anyways, I don't believe that there are more of them."

"And how can you be so sure of that?"

In response, Farengar led her toward a series of wooden crates that had been situated against one of the stone arches at the base of the stairs. Those were probably so heavy that the bandits were unable (or unwilling) to carry them upstairs. He opened the first one and Louise saw that it was full of a strange powder that resembled sugar. Farengar took his pinkie finger to his mouth and covered the tip with saliva. With it, he delicately touched the surface of the white powder before taking it back to his mouth.

"Moon sugar." Louise wanted to ask what he was referring to, but closed her mouth when she saw the beginning of a fireball in Farengar's hands. He burned the entire cargo.

"Ugh, that smells horrible." The noble protested. Farengar grabbed her arm violently and lead her away from the fire.

"Try not to smell the smoke."

"What was that?"

"Moon sugar." He explained, "A powerful narcotic used in the production of skooma. Do you know what narcotics are?

"Yes, I heard about a dangerous beverage imported from the lands of Rub al Khali. My mother warned me about them before going to the academy."

"Wise Woman, there are not many of that type." Louise felt proud with the compliment, "In any case, we seem to have bumped into a group of smugglers trying to escape justice. Smugglers often travel in small groups to preserve mobility." Well, that explained why Farengar was so convinced that the immediate danger had passed, "Let's move on, we still need to check the entrance. They surely made their camp there."

Together they moved forward, and after some final steps, they came to a huge door. It was a heavy double-door, with two sheets of engraved iron, and two huge and heavy rings at the center that served as handles. Louise wasn't sure if the pictures that adorned the door were of horns or snakes, as time and the elements had left them almost unrecognizable. She pushed the door, trying to open it, but it didn't move, not even a centimeter. Firmly planting her feet on the ground, she tried pushing again but got the same result.

Before accepting defeat and asking for some help from her companion, she tried a different approach. She pulled from the rings, and the doors opened smoothly. She had the impression of hearing a low chuckle coming from the mage.

With her sword drawn and her shield ready in case of any eventuality, Louise took point, and together with Farengar they ventured into the depths of Bleak Falls Barrow.

* * *

><p>All what she had praised (or at the very least thought of praising) about Nord masonry, she took it back. The outside of the tomb was beautiful, even in its deteriorated state. The inside… was a mess. Parts of the roof had collapsed together with the columns that should be holding it, and fungi and moss had invaded the walls.<p>

The worst of all was that the first thing she found after crossing the threshold was the putrid carcass of the biggest rat she had seen in her entire life. It was as big as a cat! Or even a small dog. And only a couple of steps beyond it, there were another three, next to the body of a man.

_'Founder.'_

The man had probably been the first to enter and had immediately been surprised by the huge rodents that dealt with him with ease. Something that she noticed was that the unfortunate individual didn't have weapons or armor, and seemed very poorly nourished.

_'I guess that's convenient. Send first the most dispensable members of the group to check in case of traps or dangers.' _She couldn't avoid thinking that Farengar had allowed her to go first.

Before making voice of her suspicions the aforementioned put a hand over her mouth and dragged her behind one of the columns that remained standing.

"It seems that you were right.' He whispered to her ear.

"What?"

"Look over there."

Louise darted her view towards the place Farengar was pointing. At the far end of the chamber, directly opposite from where they had entered, she saw the glow of a lit bonfire and, against the wall, the shadow of one person. Or, actually, more than one. They were sitting comfortably; they were completely unaware of what had happened outside.

"How?" The infuriated girl asked, making everything in her power not to raise her voice, "Didn't they listen? The ones outside should have warned them, they should have gone to their help or at least…"

"A lesson for the rest of your life, girl," Her companion cut her off, without averting her gaze from their enemies, "Never underestimate stupidity." The noble had no words to respond to that, "But, in this case, this could work in our favor."

Farengar instructed her to follow him, silently. With their backs against the right wall and using the rubble to hide their movement, they managed to encircle the bandits and get behind their backs.

"The dark elf wants to go ahead," Louise heard one of them talking with his accomplice, "let him. Better than us risking our necks."

"But what if Arvel doesn't come back? I want my share from that claw!"

"Just shut it and keep an eye out for trouble."

Louise had to bite her lips to prevent laughing with that last phrase. These two idiots had no idea that they had left their companions to die outside and they didn't even know that they were at their mercy! It would be very easy, only an issue of attacking with speed and dexterity. The first one would be a matter of killing him with a quick thrust to the neck. The second would try to resist, but he wouldn't have time to counterattack before she…

Louise stopped her train of thoughts. When… when had it become so easy to plan the murder of two people? She still remembered the first person she had killed, that rebel woman that had attacked Hadvar alongside her companion. Louise had been petrified, horrified by what she had done.

These two... killing them wouldn't be more difficult than killing cattle.

She turned her head to face Farengar, looking for some support, and saw that he had already begun to summon a fireball. Knowing full well what followed after that, Louise shut her eyes.

That did nothing to silence the cries of pain or stop the smell that stormed her nose. It was a very particular, oily smell that she had learned to recognize very well, and still caused her indigestion.

In just a few seconds, everything was over. Louise opened her eyes and saw that Farengar had stepped forwards to inspect the bodies. Although she didn't want to admit it, she approved. Better to make sure that they were dead and not get an unpleasant surprise when they were attacked from their backs.

_'Would I have thought like that a week ago?'_

Louise rose from her hiding place and went back to the mage's side.

"How could you do that so easily?" The noble asked. It was a question that she had wanted to ask for a few days now. She had tried asking Hadvar, but events at the time had conspired to make her forget about it. She wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.

"Do what?" Farengar asked, completely unaffected by the charred bodies around him.

"Attack them like that. Don-Don't you feel anything?"

"For killing them? Very little. They are drug traffickers, scum of the earth." Louise was surprised by the venom with which he spat those words from his mouth.

"B-but … isn't it better to capture criminals? Judge them before the law and give them an opportunity to…" Farengar turned to look at her. Louise flinched under his irate stare.

"Give them an opportunity?! What about all the opportunities that they destroyed? Of all the families they ruined? They are parasites! Vultures that make use of the weak and the naive to fatten their pockets and their guts. No, girl, I assure you that the world is a much better place with them dead!" Louise tried to argue, but had been left without words. "Now come, we must bring our things here."

Fifteen minutes later they had unearthed their provisions that had been left in the snow next to the corpses of their horses (fortunately the storm had passed), and had turned the traffickers' refuge into their own camp. Without losing more time, they pressed on with the expedition. Farengar had calmed down and was anxious to unravel the mysteries of the ancient tomb, but the mind of the young noble was busy with problems of her own.

_'They were bandits. They deserved that. I did the right thing. I did the right thing killing them.'_ And maybe if she kept repeating those words, she would start to believe in them.

* * *

><p>"Ahhhhh!" A sharp cry reverberated through the depths of the ancient Nord ruins, "My hair! My hair! It's in my hair!"<p>

Farengar sighed and made a mental note to add a new line to his list of reasons why one must never have children.

"You have very long hair." He explained quietly, "If you aren't careful you're going to end up entangling it everywhere."

"Stop whining and help me!"

Reluctantly, Farengar agreed to lend a hand to the girl. Disgusted, Louise made a great effort to remain immobile, while the mage cut the spider-web with which she had got tangled up in with a small knife. Louise didn't want to think about the amount of baths she would have to take before she could get her hair back into acceptable condition.

"Done." Her companion announced. The noble took a few steps to the side and relaxed after seeing that she was no longer part of the wall.

"Thank you."

For about some thirty or forty-five minutes they had been touring around the dark corridors that honeycombed the mountain. At first, the experience had not been much different from exploring Helgen, but soon enough Louise had realized how difficult it was to advance without having someone like Hadvar to guide her. The ancient tomb was… well, in ruins; Louise had failed to understand the magnitude of the mess that the construction had turned into. Over the years (decades, centuries or whatever) there had been several cave-ins that had blocked some hallways and had opened new ones, connecting some places through a series of natural grottoes. What in principle had been, surely, an organized structure, had become a confusing maze covered in dust and moss. In some places even the roots of unknown plants had made their way through the stone of the walls and now were spreading over the floors.

So confusing were the ruins that three times they had got lost, and two times they had accidentally returned to the entrance, to the camp of the bandits that they had made their own. Finally, tired of walking in circles, Louise had pulled out a sheet from her journal, a pen and ink, and had launched herself into task of sketching a crude drawing of the structure's interior. She ended up having talent for that, because they didn't get lost again and soon enough they began to speed up the pace, reaching new rooms by which they (and possibly nobody in centuries) had passed.

Fortunately they didn't find more enemies. The only difficulty they faced was when Louise, tired, had tried leaning against a wall, and had ended with her hair tangled in spider-web.

"Are you sure that blasted tablet isn't here somewhere?" The noble asked, bored, seated cross-legged on top of a boulder that had fallen down from one of the walls of the room they were currently examining.

"Very much." Farengar answered, busy translating a series of inscriptions carved on one of the pillars that support the roof. He had explained that it was the ancient language of the dragons, but to her they seemed only like random scribbles. "But, according to these carvings, the tablet was indeed buried here, next to a Guardian. So I can be sure this journey wasn't in vain."

Louise rose from her position and walked next to Farengar, a little worried.

"A… guardian? What kind of guardian?

Farengar checked the carvings again.

"Mmm, it's not explained. Surely some ancient hero that was mummified and buried here. Nothing that a fireball can't solve." That did little to reassure her. Farengar moved away from the column and headed toward the exit, "Follow me. If the texts are right, we are close to a ladder that can lead us to the lower levels of the tomb."

"I hope it still exists." She mentioned without much spirit. Based on the general condition of the rest of the complex, it would be a miracle if the stairs had survived all those years.

* * *

><p>Following Farengar's indications, they soon came to a large room, quite different to the previous ones they had seen. It was an immense chamber carved into the mountain, with a roof easily seven meters in height, if not more. It was illuminated by several stone braziers that have been sculpted in different abstract forms. They seemed to have been lit recently.<p>

At the far end, on top of a stone balcony, there were two gigantic stone heads, each easily the size of Louise, with an empty space between the two where a third one might possibly have originally rested.

Those statues were grotesque. The heads looked like decrepit elders, with open mouths taking up half of the size of the figure. Inside the mouth of one of them there was the drawing of a snake, and inside the mouth of the other, a fish.

At the very center of the room there was a wooden lever, which most probably controlled the iron grate at the other end of the room, which still remained open. And next to the lever there was '_ugh', _a corpse.

"Founder. I was hoping we wouldn't find more bodies." Louise lamented, closing in to observe it.

"Apparently we weren't so fortunate." Farengar replied drily.

"What killed him?"

"One of the traps of the tomb, most probably. See the punctures on his arms? Poisoned darts. Must have tried to open the grate without the correct combination and paid the price for his negligence."

"Combination? What combination?" Without saying a word, Farengar pointed his torch toward the left wall of the room, where Louise saw three small three-side pyramids. The first showed the drawing of a serpent, the second of an eagle and the third, of a serpent.

"An ancient Nord mechanism. One must rotate the pillars until they match the symbols shown on the statues, so you can open the door. Otherwise, well, you already know."

Louise nodded with her head. Yes, a security measure. That made sense.

No. No, hold on a moment. That made no sense at all! If the whole complex had been built to protect the famous tablet, why was the lever to open the door on the side of the invaders? And why was it guarded by such a simple device? Even the combination was ridiculously easy to decipher! The answer was carved in the god-forsaken wall!

_'Ufh, these Nords are giving me a headache.'_ Best to leave her questions for another time, when she wasn't so tired.

They crossed to the next room, where on their right they found a spiral staircase that went down to the depths of the mountains.

"It seems that I was wrong." Louise said, recalling her earlier statement.

"Have a little faith in our craftsmanship." Farengar responded, discarding his almost burned out torch and replacing it with one of the few that hung from the walls, "The ancients did know what they were doing."

Instinctively Louise took point in front of their small group, and began the descent. The old wooden stairs groaned and creaked with each step. The light of the torch was barely enough to illuminate the floor, still several meters away. She didn't want to think about how much a fall from such a height would hurt.

_'Bend the knees and roll._

_Bend the knees and roll._

_Bend the knees and roll.'_

The girl repeated her lessons again and again, as a mantra, in a vague attempt to ease her nerves; but if the cold sweat crossing her back was any indication, it wasn't working.

Finally, after some tense final steps, Louise felt the solid ground beneath her feet.

"Fifty-four. And thanks to the Found…"

"Hiiiic!"

Louise's gratitude was, unfortunately, premature. Because no sooner had she finished setting her feet on the stone, a huge rat similar to the ones she had seen at the entrance to the Barrows (although, unlike those, this one was well and truly alive) jumped at her.

"Agh!"

With a fast movement Louise raised her shield, putting it between herself and the horrible varmint. She tried hacking at it with her sword, but the animal was too fast and the noble only managed to cut the air. Changing tactics, she kicked at it, but missed her target and lost her balance. Then her right thigh burst in pain.

"Ahhhhh!"

Taking advantage of its fallen foe, the rat had attacked and had sunk its huge teeth into the flesh of the young girl. Louise tried to cut it once more but, again, the rat was faster and got away of her reach. Before it could face the girl again and attack her one more time, an electric discharge roasted it on the spot.

"Louise!" She heard Farengar's voice calling her. He sounded… worried? Amazing, she didn't believe that his voice could change from the tone of condescension that he seemed to carry permanently. Louise wanted to get on her feet but the mage, now at her side, put one hand on her chest to keep her down.

"What the...?

"Don't move." He instructed her while checking her wound. The wound that the blasted rodent had inflicted on her thigh, too close to her…

"What the hell do you think you are doing, you damned fool?!" Louise tried to wriggle out from his grip, or at least punch him on the face. But at the slightest effort to move, she felt terribly tired and dizzy, "W-wha ii-s happ-ing?" Louise asked with a trembling voice.

"A case of ataxia, I would say."

"D-d-doo som-ting!" She felt her members trembling; it was difficult even to coordinate her words.

"I'm on it." He replied calmly. Louise heard him muttering a few short enchantments and his hands started to glow, wrapped in a golden light. He put his hands over the wounds, and soon the noble felt an electric current flowing through her entire body. The tremors ceased immediately. She remained in that position for a few moments, lying on the floor, regaining her strengths.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Ataxia. A bacterium that travels in the saliva of rats and other small mammals. It's not fatal, but causes some bothersome tremors as, I guess, you just realized."

"I didn't know you could heal."

"My knowledge is vast and diverse. I have experience in virtually every schools of magic, although during my younger years I felt a particular affinity towards the school of destruction." He explained. By the tone of his voice, he seemed to assume that he had explained everything, but seeing the look of utter confusion on the girl's face, he decided to clarify a little, "There's a saying among my colleagues: 'The great masters of destruction are also good healers, because those who do not learn the craft of the medic do not survive the years of instruction.'"

Louise was perplexed. Had he just made a joke? Not a very good one, but it was rather surprising to learn that the mage did have a sense of humor.

"Are you feeling all right?" The noble asked, getting back to her feet.

"No." Farengar admitted after a short pause, "I should have been more careful."

"What are you talking about?"

"I wasn't expecting to find this much resistance. The bandits were an external variable, acceptable. But we saw remains of skeevers at the entrance. I should have been expecting them. I won't make that mistake again."

"And now what?"

"Nothing. I already told you, we adapt and carry on. Are you ready to continue?"

_'No.'_ "Yes."

She wasn't going to be less than this peasant mage.

'_As steel.'_

* * *

><p>The darn expedition was going from bad to worse. First, the bandits attacked, then the horses died, then they walked in circles for more than half an hour, and then a rat bit her. Although, if she had to be honest, there probably were many ways in which things might have turned out worse. At least she was still alive!<p>

"Hiiiic!"

Despite the skeevers' multiple attempts to change that situation.

_**Fhooom**_

This was, in fact, the third group of the abominable rodents that the couple had found on their way. Farengar's magic was powerful, but the accursed creatures were fast and numerous, always holding back until the last moment before attacking, in an attempt to take them by surprise, which meant that the adventurers-by-accident usually ended up having to defend themselves in close combat.

"Hiiiic!"

However, these were just animals; they attacked without coordination or strategy, guided only by their primitive instincts. And Louise? Louise was learning.

"Ha! Take that!"

It was ridiculous to think that these stupid creatures had appeared to be so dangerous at the beginning. Yes, the first one had managed to catch and bite her, and the three that followed had managed to scratch her (later she would have to thank Farengar for his work as the group's healer), but she had survived and had learned.

The rats were small and agile, but had no mobility. With their small legs they couldn't move from side to side with ease, and even backtracking was difficult for them. They were fast only while advancing or turning. Louise already knew how to kill them.

She attacked with a horizontal cut that the skeever evaded with ease, but it was the last thing it ever did. With a swift backlash the noble beheaded it.

Another of the small varmints jumped towards her. The young girl blocked with her shield, but instead of simply shaking it to get rid of it, Louise turned, twisted, and smashed the shield against the wall, crushing the animal against the stone. The skeever fell inert. Louise stabbed it just to be safe.

The girl made a recount. With these last ones, those were already some eleven rats that she had killed. And she felt good. Her heart was throbbing, but not with fear, but excitement. Louise didn't remember the last time she had felt like that. Putting an end to these beasts was simple, she didn't have to worry about the morality of her actions, nor did she have to waste time doubting if her actions were just. These were only dangerous animals that had to be put down, that no one would ever miss.

For just a moment, she allowed herself to fantasize and imagine that she was one of the heroes of legend, ending evil with each step. But, thinking about it, 'Louise the Rat-stabber' wasn't exactly the kind of name that would sow terror in the heart of the evil-doers.

_'What nonsense.'_

"Hiiiic!"

_**Fhooom**_

And with that last fireball, the remaining rodents were killed. The girl used the pause to fix her greaves that had got loose. When she turned to face Farengar and congratulate him on a job well done, she found him pensive, carefully checking one of walls covered in spider web.

"What's wrong now?"

"These webs. These webs are different."

Louise got closer and tried to find out what was the strange thing that Farengar had discovered, but as much as she focused her gaze, with the dim light of the torch she didn't see anything unusual. That web was just like any other she had seen before. Even more, she still had some of it stuck one her hair to compare, and… yes, they looked the same.

"What's wrong with them?"

"Look at their thickness and their disposition." He began to explain, pointing at different places in the wall, "This doesn't seem like the work of a common spider, but…" Unfortunately his descriptions were interrupted by a voice in the distance.

"Is… is someone coming?" That was a man, and he seemed to be in trouble, "Harknir? Bjorn? Soling? I need help here!"

"You heard that?" Louise exclaimed, "We must go!"

"Girl, no!" Farengar tried to stop her, but the girl reacted faster than him, and was already on her way following the strange voice. The mage rushed after her, trying to reach her while traversing the labyrinthine corridors. Praying to all the gods to let him be wrong.

A pity that he doubted their usefulness.

* * *

><p>Louise finally arrived to the room the shouts were coming from. It was surprisingly well lit, thanks to a piece of roof that had collapsed, allowing the light of the moon to enter. Once her eyes adjusted to the new lighting, and could focus, she almost screamed, horrified.<p>

"Oh my God."

The floor. The walls. Even the ceiling was covered in spider web! And from the walls hung massive cocoons. Some looked like eggs; other held prey, wrapped up to be consumed later. Some of the remains appeared to be of deer or wolves. Too many were clearly human ones.

Louise readied her sword, and automatically started to look for signs of movement. To the front. Behind her back. To the sides. She checked the roof, and also the floor beneath her feet. She wasn't going to rule out absolutely anything.

After several tense seconds... nothing happened.

The noble didn't lower her guard. Taking her chance, she carefully observed her surroundings. The place looked like it had originally been intended to be just another room for the complex, but it had been left half-built or the animals had broken down the walls to enlarge their domains. At the far end she could see a small underground pond, and although there still were some signs of human work (the entrances and some parts of the floor) most of the chamber was a natural cavern. And it was immense! The Academy would easily be able to install the dining room inside there. She might have been exaggerating just a bit.

"Eh! You! Over here!" A desperate voice cried for her help. Louise turned around to search for its origin and…

*Click* *Click*

*Click* *Click*

What had been that sound? It didn't matter. The girl focused her view on one of the walls and saw a person hanging from the spider-web.

"Who are you?" Louise demanded. He was… he was one of those dark elves, like the one she had seen at Dragonsreach. Farengar had said that she didn't have anything to fear from them, but this one still caused her apprehension.

Hadn't she heard one of the bandits saying something about a dark elf?

"I'm just poor merchant that…"

"Lies!" She interrupted, "I heard the others talking about you! You are Arvel." An elf and a smuggler. Louise raised her sword; a quick slash would be enough to end him. Farengar would surely approve.

"Wait! Wait!" He begged for her mercy, "Only I know how the claw works!"

"What are you…?"

*Click* *Click*

*Click* *Click*

That noise again. What was it? It seemed to be coming from the walls.

"Oh, no! Here it comes." The elf lamented. Louise tried asking him what the source of that sound was , but she got distracted when she heard Farengar making his way at full speed towards her position.

"Get away from there!" He shouted, but his warning arrived too late.

The whole room was enclosed in darkness when a giant shadow covered the moon. Her eyes darted upwards, trying to identify what had hidden it. That wasn't a shadow. That was a massive creature that was sliding through the hole in the roof. Its multiple legs moving and twitching in unnatural ways, attached to a bulbous body covered in black fur.

As a kid, during her stay at the royal palace, she had greatly enjoyed wandering around the gardens alongside Henrietta. That healthy custom almost died one summer morning during a game of 'Knights and Witches'. The courageous knight Louise had been hunting the wicked witch Henrietta through the dense forests of Tristain. Following her through trees and bushes, they finally came to an open field. But before their decisive battle, Louise realized that a leaf had got stuck to her face. It was when she tried to remove it that she realized the 'leaf' had multiple legs and eyes, and it was staring at her. Her cries probably reached Albion, and despite Cattleya's insistence that praying mantises were harmless, Louise had kept her doubts, and from that day onwards had felt a particular distaste for all creatures with more than four legs. This one had eight.

To hell with courage, to hell with honor and to hell with nobility. Louise shrieked in absolute terror.

"Gyaaaaaa!"

The colossal spider (easily the size of a medium a carriage) jumped towards her, and would have crushed her, if Louise hadn't come out of her paralysis and had rolled to the side.

Getting back on her feet, Louise hacked at one of its legs, but the iron sword simply bounced against the chitinous shell that covered the arachnid. With incredible speed (surprising for its size) the spider turned and attacked the noble, trying to cut her with its front legs, which ended in some fearsome hooks. With a desperate jump backwards, Louise dodged the gruesome appendages, which only managed to tear the sleeves of her shirt.

The spider attacked again, with legs and fangs. The young girl could see the venom dripping from them.

Louise defended herself with her shield and then returned the attacks with her sword, but it was in vain. Her sword didn't mean more than small nuisance to the beast. And with each blow the noble backtracked more and more, giving up more ground. Very soon she would run out of space to maneuver and...

Her back brushed against the wall. She no longer had anywhere to go.

Where the hell was Farengar!?

_**Fhoom!**_

There he was! And he was... surrounded by at least half a dozen more arachnids. But these ones were smaller, the size of dogs; where had they come from?! And why had the biggest spider stopped its advance?

The answer to that last question came abruptly, when one strange, heavy and hairy thing landed on her head.

"Ahhhh!"

She could feel it as it walked on her back. How its hairy legs caressed her neck and cheeks. And then began the hits.

_**TOC**_

_**TOC**_

She could feel them reverberating inside her helmet. The small spider was trying to bite her, to inject her with its venom. But its tiny fangs couldn't get past her armor.

She had to move out of there!

Taking advantage of the fact that the mother had left the dirty work to its children, she tried to move, but discovered that she couldn't.

"Oh God! No! No! No!"

Her hair had got stuck to the webs that covered the wall. Again.

She felt how the small offspring was still trying to get past her helmet. It was only matter of time before it managed to do it or decided to attack an unprotected area. Like her eyes.

_'No! I will not die in here. I'm not going to turn into one of those cocoons hanging from the wall.'_

Some of its legs crossed over her chest. She caught them with her arms. She felt one crossing over her throat. She held it with her chin.

Louise jumped back.

She hit with violence against the wall, trying to crush the arachnid with her back. The spider started to jerk, trying to wriggle out of her grip, but Louise didn't loosen her hold. She hit the wall again and again, pressing with her back and her head.

Finally, with a loud _**crack**_, the spider ceased its movements and fell to the ground. Louise felt a warm and humid ichor pouring through her back. The offspring was dead.

Unfortunately the noble didn't have time to relax, because the mother, enraged, resumed its attack.

Making a leap forward, the monster tried to impale her with its frontal legs. Louise hunkered down in time and the spider's legs ended up nailing to the wall. It went for a bite, but the girl managed to raise her shield just in time to cover herself.

She needed to flee! Needed to get out of there! She pulled. Pushed. But couldn't get free.

The gigantic arachnid bit again, but once more she succeeded in blocking it. Louise heard the buckler creaking under the force of the impacts, again and again. Her arm had gone numb, and she barely had the strength to keep her defense up.

The beast attacked again. The shield succumbed to the onslaught and fell to the ground in pieces. Louise had been left defenseless.

The spider flexed its legs, preparing its poisonous mandibles for the decisive blow.

The arachnid attacked andLouise _pushed_. Before its fangs could embed into the girl, Louise heard a tearing sound as she was catapulted to one side. Not able to maintain her balance, she fell and rolled to the ground, scratching her knees and elbows. But she was free! She stood up just in time to evade one of the spider's legs and parry another with her sword.

The beast charged her, trying to crush her with its body, but Louise sidestepped the monster and it passed her by. It was by good fortune that the spider couldn't stop before its bulbous body got stuck in the gateway that Louise and Farengar had entered through.

In less than a second Louise had already devised a solution for it. She unsheathed her dagger with her left hand and pointed to the abdomen of the beast.

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

But her aim betrayed her. The explosion impacted too high and to the right of her target. A rock fell off the wall and crushed two of the spider's rear legs. Pushing with its remaining ones, the beast managed to release itself just before a huge boulder fell where it had been, blocking the entrance.

"Oh, the...!"

Fortunately it didn't resume its attack immediately. It had been left stunned by the pain, and with only six legs it was difficult to walk.

Making use of the pause, Louise searched for Farengar. She found him struggling with the last remaining offspring, next to the lagoon. The rest had become scorched carcasses scattered around the place.

If she could join him and help him take down the last of the small spiders, together they might be able to kill the mother. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to do so. The mother recovered and threw a series of frenetic attacks in her direction. They were erratic and imprecise, but Louise was tired and couldn't evade them all. One of the hooks cut her right forearm, forcing the noble to drop her sword. She could feel the blood -her blood- dripping from her hand.

Louise made a desperate attack with her dagger. The elvish metal was much sharper than the vulgar iron and was able to cut its right leg. However, that accomplished very little. She had overstretched her attack, leaving her belly completely exposed.

The spider lunged.

Louise felt its fangs perforating with ease her armor, her shirt and her flesh.

"Uhh…" She wanted to scream, but had been left without air. Louise fell on her back.

Before the beast could finish its prey, an electrical shock impacted its side. Farengar had come to her rescue. But not even the powerful mage could do much against it. He was tired, hurt, and his magicka was running low. With a horizontal movement the spider smashed his side and sent the mage flying over the noble's head. She heard his body hitting the floor with a sickening sound just a few meters behind her.

The spider faced her again, but the young girl wasn't going to surrender. Not yet. Because Farengar's staff had landed to her side and an idea, a crazy idea, was forming in her head.

Louise aimed for the beast and with all her might she threw her dagger.

Whether it was luck, or divine intervention, the dagger went flying directly toward the head of the monster. The arachnid crouched, trying to evade the projectile, but it was too slow and the dagger cut one of its eyes. The beast gave a powerful cry of pain while blood and bile poured out from its face.

Seizing the moment, Louise grabbed the mage's staff. Ignoring the pain and the numbness of her extremities, she rose and ran toward the encounter with her enemy. She couldn't dodge its legs, and one of its hooks buried itself into her shoulder, but she kept pushing, and as if it was a lance, she shoved the baton deep into the open mouth of the beast. Louise channeled all her willpower and cast her spell.

"Fireball!"

_**BOOOOM!**_

The staff exploded in her hands, the force powerful enough to launch Louise three meters through the air.

The noble landed heavily on her back over the stone floor. Her body ached and her face had been covered with a strange and foul smelling mucus. She tried to get back on her feet, but her legs refused to answer.

Supporting her weight with her arms, she managed to straighten up. She looked for signs of the spider, but the place where it had been standing had been covered in a dense cloud of smoke.

_'Please let it be dead. Please Founder! Someone tell me that it is dead.'_

And then she heard a sound. A sound not dissimilar to a small rock or a ring rolling over the floor.

A tiny object detached itself from the cloud of smoke. Louise opened her eyes wide when she saw that it was coming to her.

Getting closer.

Rolling.

The girl dragged herself on her back. She tried to pull back, but couldn't get very far before her arms surrendered and she lost her grip. Louise could do nothing more than watch helplessly as the severed eyeball of the spider rolled toward her, before touching the inside of her left knee and stopping in its tracks.

Louise bent to a side and threw up.

"Louise!" She heard someone calling her name.

_'Ah, yes. Farengar.'_

The mage was limping; he got next to her and kneeled to her side. He appeared to have a wounded leg.

"Louise! Are you all right?"

She didn't even turn to look at him. She was tired. She was sick of all this.

_'Tha-That if I'm all right? That if I'm all right?! After everything that has happened this damn idiot still asks me if I am all right?!'_

It had already been too much.

"No."

"Lou-"

"No! I am not fine!" The noble hugged him and broke down in tears against his chest, "I miss my mom! I miss my family! I even miss my stupid classmates! Why is this happening to me? I just want to go home."

Farengar didn't know what to do; he had never been good with people. He just put one hand on top of her head and let her release her frustration.

"I don't know what to tell you." He said sorrowfully, "I don't know how, but I swear to you I'm going to..."

"Zzzzzz. ..zzzz. ..zz"

Farengar turned his head down and saw that Louise had fallen asleep. The fatigue had overcome her. He tried to lean her back on the floor, but his tunic had got pasted to the girl's belly. He carefully detached it.

"Gods."

It looked bad. It looked very bad. It was a miracle she had survived that, but he would have to act with haste before the venom could finish its job and the necrosis could set. After that he would have to protect their improvised refuge so they could be able to rest for the night.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hear my pledge, Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers! I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Valliére, following my fate, command you to appear before me my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant!"<em>

_**Booooom!**_

_A tremendous explosion, the biggest she had ever caused, throwing her backwards and forcing her to drop her wand. A huge cloud of dust and smoke hid her from the view of her schoolmates._

_Something fell in her hands._

_What was that? It was circular and metallic to the touch._

_Louise wanted to see, but it was getting increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open and darkness was enclosing her. She surrendered herself to the weight of her eyelids._

_Breathing was hard. She didn't realize when she stopped doing so._

_She was so cold._

_There was so much light._

_**Tu-tum Tu-tum**_

* * *

><p>Louise woke up from a nightmare only to get into another. Some white spheres of ethereal energies floated a meter and a half from the floor, illuminating the chamber. Farengar must have summoned those to illuminate their path.<p>

Slowly, she forced her body to straighten up on the hard stone floor she had slept on. Every muscle and every articulation screamed in pain. Less than five meters away she saw the mangled remains of the gigantic spider she had killed just a few hours ago. With the memories of her struggle for survival etched in her mind, she put one hand over her belly. It was covered in bandages.

Louise stood on her feet.

Quickly, she checked the condition of the rest of her body. She only had her greaves and her bracers, the rest of her armor had been shattered, the leather useless as the fabric of her shirt to stop the fangs of the disgusting creature. She noticed that her shirt was open and that she didn't have her brassiere, the bandages being the only thing covering her.

The noble blushed and thought about searching for it.

What stupidity.

Surely it had been torn at some point during the fight and was now lying somewhere around the cave. Surely covered in blood and the spider's ichor.

To her left she saw her weapons; she set her sword and her dagger at her waist. She also saw her coat and her backpack, which had miraculously survived the battle.

With slow but decided steps she made her way to the underground pond she had seen after entering that accursed place.

She needed to see.

Her shoes touched the edge of the water mirror and Louise sensed the cold liquid moistening her socks. Her shoes had also been torn.

Louise remained almost a minute in that position, with her sight focused on the rock walls, fearful of what she could find once she observed her reflection. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tilted her body forward. First she opened her left eye and the right one.

She closed her fists with enough strength to cut with her nails the skin of her palms.

Her face didn't look like that of a young noble, but like the one of an old farmer, covered with dust, scrapes, and blood that was not her own. But that wasn't the worst part.

Louise had always been proud of her hair. Her beautiful hair. Even Princess Henrietta had praised it, and that was why she had left it so long. It was very difficult to maintain, to wash and comb, but it was worth the effort. It was one of her few qualities that no one had ever mocked her about. In addition, it was the same color of her mother's. Each time someone doubted her heritage, each time someone suggested that she was just an accident that her father had with some maid, Louise could look at the mirror and remember that those were only lies that the envious made up to try hurting her.

Louise's heart broke when she saw it now.

Part of her hair had been pulled out completely, leaving in its place patches of reddish skin, and the rest was covered in spider-webs and filth that she didn't want to think about what it was. She remembered the small spider she crushed with her back. Surely her missing hair was still hanging from that wall.

Louise wanted to cry, wanted to throw up, but she knew she had one last thing to do.

She searched with her hand the tip of the strappings that covered her body. She found it over her right shoulder. She set it loose and slowly began to unravel the bandages.

"Louise!" She heard Farengar calling for her. She didn't care.

The mage had been busy guarding the exit of the cavern, which had been opened after one of his fireballs had burned the webs covering it. He would have liked to be at her side when she woke up, but he hadn't heard her. Only when he abandoned his post to check her was when he discovered she was no longer where he had left her. His heart jumped, fearing that some creature had escaped his vigilance, but relaxed after seeing her standing right next to the small pond.

"Louise!" He called again. Getting closer, he tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she pushed him away with her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She shouted, without turning her head to face him.

"Wait! You might… you might want to wait a few days." He tried to reassure her, but failed miserably, "The wounds haven't fully healed yet. If you wait a few days perhaps…"

She turned and Farengar could see that tears were beginning to pour from her eyes, "Would it even make a difference?" He was unable to answer her.

Louise continued with her task, unconcerned that a man was standing right next to her. She cared very little about that now. In addition, he had been the one who had bandaged her. If he had wanted, he would have had enough time to look.

Farengar, for his part, took a step back, keeping himself at her back. He wanted to observe carefully what the girl was doing, but also wanted to respect her modesty.

The bandages loosened and the top fell apart. Louise breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her breasts had been spared from any wound or scar, but tensed immediately after seeing a small mark of scarred skin under her left breast, where her stomach, which was still covered in bandages, began. Furiously, the noble tore the remaining bandages apart and threw them to the side. Now she could see her belly, clearly reflected on the surface of the lake.

Louise unsheathed her dagger and aimed at the water.

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

"Fireball!"

_**Booom!**_

She wanted to undo it, destroy it; she wanted to make that grotesque image disappear. But with each explosion the only thing she managed was to distort the water and splashing it in every direction. It was in vain, for as soon as the lake calmed, it went back to reflect her body.

Louise collapsed to her knees, defeated. Then her body fell down to one side, with her face on the cold floor, but with her feet still touching the water. She cried. It was a cry of pain, anguish and impotence.

'_This… this is not fair.'_

Every time she had felt down, every night she had cried herself to sleep; she had thought about Cattleya. Her sister had faith in her, she had given her hopes! Had said that as long as she tried, her future would be bright.

Louise had tried. Louise had tried so hard; and what did she get for it? Life had taken away everything. It had taken away her magic, her friends, her self-esteem, her family and her country. It had taken away her innocence. And now it had taken away her skin, leaving in its place a mark she would never forget.

Farengar kneeled beside her. Louise rose, hugged him, and continued crying against his chest. Just like the last time, the mage let her release her bitterness.

"The entrance is blocked." He finally told her after almost a minute.

"I know." Louise raised her head and saw that a new path had been opened where the bandit had been trapped before, "What-what happened with the elf?"

"I don't know. I think one of my spells hit the wall and burnt the web. He escaped further inside the ruins."

The girl released her embrace and stood up. She didn't know why Farengar averted his gaze, until a cold chill reminded her of her precarious state of dressing. Louise blushed and managed to close her shirt, although it was difficult with it torn apart.

"Are you… are you going to bandage me again?" She asked embarrassed.

"No. The wounds are healing well. As long as they don't open again that won't be necessary." Well, that was a relief, "I'm sorry for all this."

"What?" Louise asked incredulous.

"This is entirely my fault. I failed planning this journey; I didn't account for the frostbite spiders. I didn't even consider they might inhabit these heights, and that's why we're currently in this mess."

She heard him apologizing, trying to reassure her.

'_He-he is trying to console me? A commoner is trying to console me?!'_

"And I blew up the entrance." She admitted, cleaning her tears with her hands.

Something inside her shifted and something else broke.

'_What the hell am I doing?! __I'm Louise de la Valliére! __I don't care what the rabble says, I am a noble! I'm a leader of men, not a baby that had to be appeased by commoners! I'm stronger than this! I'm stronger than steel!'_

This was no longer the time to cry. Had Farengar been the one to save them? No! Even without magic she had been the one who killed the monster! She would take her stand there! She was a noble.

'_If Farengar isn't going to get us out of here, I will!'_

"Let's reach an agreement and say that we are both idiots." She declared. Farengar allowed himself a small smile and was surprised to see that the girl was offering him a hand, "Now let's try to get out of this together." The mage took it and gave a strong squeeze before releasing it.

"Any ideas?"

"How many provisions do we have here?"

"Very few, we have water but food will only last us until tomorrow if we ration it."

"Your rope?" Louise asked, looking at the hole in the roof, from where she could already see the morning sun.

"Destroyed. Besides, I have no hooks, nor do I have experience in levitation spells. It would be an adventure in itself to get up there."

"Someone knows that we were going to be here?"

"I told the guard at Riverwood, but I told them that we were going to stay here several days. It's going to be some time before they start to worry about us."

"Then," Louise sighted, "I guess we have no choice other than to keep pressing onwards."

"I guess not." Farengar looked towards the recently uncovered path, "Some of these old constructions were built with secondary exits. With some luck, we'll find one."

"I guess that's our best option now."

"Indeed. I'm going to clear the path."

"Clear it?"

"Yes. I set several barriers and traps in the event of some other creature trying to attack us."

Seeing the mage leaving her to perform his job Louise couldn't avoid admiring his power. Magical defenses like those were among the most difficult spells to learn and cast. It had taken an injured and tired Farengar just one night to erect them. That inhuman power was terrifying, and he was just a scholar!

For a moment she wondered, if she could forge an alliance between Tristain and the Empire, what would happen if she got a few of their warrior-mages to fight against the elves in the Holy Lands? It was one thing that was worth considering.

Louise lamented the poor state of her attire. Her armor had been rendered unusable; she had never felt so vulnerable, not even in Helgen after discovering that she had lost her wand. She needed a new one.

Her eyes darted around, looking at the walls from where numerous cocoons hung, stuffed with withered corpses.

From one was hanging what seemed to have been a knight, or maybe an adventurer who hadn't been as lucky as they had been. His steel armor was too big for her.

From another, hung a man dressed only with cheap clothing. Possibly a merchant that had sought to shorten his trip by crossing through the mountains.

There were several like that. Most of the armors she could see were either too large or were too damaged to be of any use.

But then her gaze fell on one. Of the bounded corpse she could only see the head, still wearing an iron helmet with a pair of horns popping from each side. It was close to the floor, so Louise didn't have problems reaching for it. She removed the helmet with ease. It was perfect, it was just her size. She put it aside.

She drew her sword and with some effort she attempted to cut-open the cocoon, but it was for naught; the blade was dull.

"Useless thing."

She unsheathed her dagger and tried again. The bindings were cut with ease and the corpse fell to the ground. It was so dry and rotten that it shattered with the impact. Better for her, that way she would be able to remove the armor with fewer problems.

She started with the cuirass. She unfastened it and placed it on the ground next to the helmet. Then she continued with the faulds and the bracers. The boots were the most difficult ones to prepare; she was very careful to clean any leftovers that remained inside.

Louise observed her new iron armor carefully, unfolded over the ground. It seemed more robust than her previous one, and much uglier. She removed the remaining pieces of her leather armor and discarded them, as she no longer needed them.

Her new attire was heavier; she had to adjust her footing to compensate for it. Her boots were loose, and so she tightened the straps. The bracers were scratching the back of her hands, and so she fixed them. She didn't need a peasant to tell her how to do all that, she could do it just fine on her own. And she felt fine, she felt right.

It was as if that armor had been made for her.

She took the horned helmet between her hands. She wanted to wear it, but when she was about to fix it to her head she felt the tangled mess of hair and filth touching her neck. One last thing still remained to be done.

She got close to the water mirror again and left the helmet at her feet.

Useless

Hopeless

Failure

Louise squeezed her eyes shut, grit her teeth and gathered what remained of her long locks with one hand. With the other, she unsheathed her dagger and with a swift movement she cut her hair at neck-length. She clutched the lock of hair and threw it on the water. She no longer had tears to weep.

She put the helmet over her head and leaned to see her reflection again. Her mouth huged agape; the noble couldn't believe her eyes.

_'Is that me?'_

Louise was a petite girl; some would say almost scrawny. The person that gazed back at her from the water couldn't be her. That person, wrapped in an imposing iron armor... she was a warrior, someone who could fight, that could survive. No one would ever question that person; no one would ever mock her.

Louise couldn't avoid smiling. It was a small vicious smile.

_**Grrrrrrrr**_

A growl not dissimilar to one belonging to a wild beast escaped her throat, but it was too quiet for anyone to hear it. She grabbed her backpack and tied her coat over her shoulders.

"Louise!" Farengar called from the pathway that leaded out from the cave, "The way is clear, are you ready?"

Before answering, she approached the knight's remains and from them extracted the only piece of equipment she could use. Louise's iron sword had been useless against the monster, and now it was dull and chipped. The knight had been carrying a steel one, stronger, sharper. It was also longer with its one-hundred and twenty centimeters, while her short sword was only fifty. She would need her two hands to wield it effectively. She didn't have any problem with that; she had lost her shield after all.

"Yes. Yes I am ready."

…

* * *

><p>AN: No, Louise, I don't care what you believe, but you are not ready for what's coming for you.

Sorry for the long delay, fight scenes aren't easy to write, tell me what you think.

Now, next two updates will be different. Before chapter 6 I'll post two interludes, one starring Legate Fasendil and the other starring Colbert. Expect some foreshadowing and a glimpse at Louise's future. The interludes will be shorter than usual (don't quote me on that) so I hope to get them earlier (seriously, do not quote me on that).


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